Germany has a democratic, federal parliamentary republic system of government. It has a multi-party system led by a chancellor and president. The government has several levels including the European Union, national, state, and local levels. Germany has a strong economy and is one of the world's largest exporters. It faces issues like climate change and housing costs. German culture is known for its order, beer, sausage, and traditional clothing. The population is ethnically diverse with the largest groups being German, Turkish, and Polish. Geographically, Germany is located in central Europe and has varied landscapes including forests and mountains.

1. SNAPSHOT
OF
GERMANY
BY: SAMUEL.C

2. W H AT T Y P E
G O V E R N M E N T ?
• Germany is a democratic, federal
parliamentary republic.
• They have the Bundestag, which
is the parliament of Germany.
• They have Bundesrat, which is
the representative body of the 16
regions, which is called Lander.

3. H O W D O E S T H E I R
G O V E R N M E N T
W O R K
• Every 4 years, the Germans vote for their President in a
parliamentary election.
• There are 2 different ways:
• They vote for their representative
• Their vote for the political parties (CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP,
ODP...)
• And this gives Bundestag a total of 598 seats.
• Every 5 years, each of the 16 state has their local elections.
Those local elections sent their representatives to Bundesrat
to act as the voice of the states.
• The federal representatives and the states representatives
work together to elect a President.
• The President does have some real power, like to dissolve the
Bundestag , or veto a law. But he/she rarely uses it.
• The President uses his/her power mostly in a ceremonial
position. The President can make official state visits, meet
important people and maybe even has someone open the
window in the middle of a blizzard.
• The Chancellor is appointed by the President and voted on by
the Bundestag
• Federal Constitutional Court is
seated in southwest Germany.
• The Federal Constitutional Court is made up of 16
judges. Half of them are elected by the Bundestag, and the
other half are elected by the Bundesrat.
• The body of local elected representatives and these judges

4. G O V E R N M E N T L E V E L S
There are 5 levels of government
The 5 levels are:
1. The European Union (or EU)
2. The Federation or national government
3. The sixteen Länder (states)
4. The rural districts or counties (Landkreise) and the
urban districts or independent towns
5. The towns and municipalities

5. E C O N O M Y
• Currency: Euro (EUR, €)
• Exports: $2.004 trillion($2,004,000,000,000)((2019 est.)
• Main export partners: (2017 est.)
United States 8.8%
France 8.2%
China 6.8%
Netherlands 6.7%
United Kingdom 6.6%
Italy 5.1%
• Imports: $1.804 trillion($1,804,000,000,000)
• Main import partners: (2017 est.)
Netherlands 13.8%
China 7.0%
France 6.6%
Belgium 5.9%
Itay 5.4%
Poland 5.4%
• Buget balance: €49.8 billion surplus (2019) +1.4% of
GDP (2019)
• Deficit balance: -5.46% (2021)

6. C U R R E N T I S S U E ( S )
• German Court Rules Against Climate Law: Postponing Action is
Unconstitutional
Freedom depends on climate policy – and action is needed now.
Postponing climate action into the distant future would imply even harsher
restrictions on the freedom to eventually bring down …
• Young climate activists beat Germany's government in court.
Could it happen here?
Young climate activists in Canada have turned to the courts in their fight to
goad governments into taking their near-term climate commitments
seriously. If the German experience is any guide, they may be on to
something.
• German property giants announce 19bn euro merger
Protesters carry a banner reading 'Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen" during a
demonstration against expensive rents in Berlin, on May 23, 2021.
• COVID Pandemic:
Total cases: 3.66M
Recovered: 3.41M
Death: 87429
z

7. GERMANY CANADA
• Be 65.8% more likely
to be unemployed
• Is about 28 times bigger
than Germany
• Live 2.3 years longer
• Be 42.9% more likely
to die during childbirth
• Have 18.6% more
children
• Really good at soccer
• See 84.6 times more
coastline
• Pay a 30.5% lower
top tax rate
• Known for being one
of the friendliest
countries in the world.
• There are over 1,000
kinds of sausages in
Germany
• There are over 2100
castles in Germany
• Have 400+ zoos, the
most in the world
• There are over
1,500 different beers
in Germany.
• University is free for
everyone (even non-
Germans)
• Tallest mountain peak
• Really good at hocky
• Canada has 20% of
the world’s fresh
water.
• Nine out of ten
Canadians live in the
US
They are all a country...

8. C U LT U R E
• German culture and people are, to a large extent, all about reason and logic.
Germany shares a lot of culture and tradition with neighboring countries, especially the
Germanic-speaking Austria and Switzerland.
• Residents are expected to respect order and structure. It’s important to be on time,
not just for work but for social events too, and to follow rules that are in place for the
greater good of everybody who lives there.
• Traditional clothing in Germany includes the world-famous Lederhosen, an outfit once
worn by rural men, traditionally those undertaking farm work or manual labor. A knee-
length set of breeches complete with braces, worn over a short sleeve
shirt, Lederhosen are traditionally associated with Bavarian and Tyrolean culture.
• For women, traditional German clothes include the Dirndl, a dress made from a bodice,
pinafore and full skirt. The shirt underneath is usually low cut and made with short puffy
sleeves. Today these clothes are no longer seen on farm workers but on the staff and
partygoers at beer festivals.
• German culture has been shaped over thousands of years. It was originally a pagan
country, and then an important seat of the Holy Roman Empire. It was also
the birthplace of the Protestant reformation.
• Some of the key characteristics of German culture that the nation is famously known for
include the timeliness and order that is apparent in most parts of German society. From
an onlooker’s viewpoint, good beer (andOktoberfest), delicious sausage, hiking,
traditional ‘Oom-Pah’ folk music, and holiday-making make-up a key part of the
country’s identity.
• The world’s most renowned classical composers, as Bach and Beethoven, who have
marked the transition of music between the classical and romantic to western classical
music, are Germans, who were born and died in Germany. Other famous composers

9. E T H N I C D I V E R S I T Y
Rank Ethnic Group
Share of German
Population
1 German 80.0%
2 Turk 3.7%
3 Pole 1.9%
4 Russian 1.5%
5 Italian 1.0%
6 African German 1.0%
7 Arab 0.6%
8 Romanian 0.5%
9 Greek 0.5%
Others 9.3%

10. G E O G R A P H Y
Germany is located in central Wester Europe,
bordered by nine other countries (Belgium,
Poland, France, Switzerland, Austria,
Luxemburg...) with small coasts on the North
and Baltic Seas, which they own about 50
small islands. And it's at the heart of Europe.
Germany's central and southern regions have
forested hills and mountains cut through by the
Danube, Main, and Rhine river valleys. In the
north, the landscape flattens out to a wide
plain that stretches to the North Sea. Between
these extremes, Germany is a country of
incredible variety.
Germany's largest wooded area, and its most
famous, is in the southwest near the Swiss
border. This is the Black Forest, a
mountainous region full of pines and fir trees.
This forest contains the source of the Danube,
one of Europe's longest rivers.

11. I N T E R E S T I N G
F A C T S :
• To get ONE beer in Germany, you show
your thumb. To show your first finger means
that you want 2 beers: one with the thumb, and
one with the finger.
• If you see the autobahn highway system
sign, that means there's no speed limit.
• East Berlin are still using the yellowish tinted
lightbulb, whereas the west are using the white
tinted lightbulbs.
• Stereotypes in Germany:
Saxons: indecisive
Berliners: Brag too much
Swabians: Stingy
Bavarians: Drunk
Hessians: Talk too much
Holstieners: Don't talk enough

12. F R E E D O M A N D
R I G H T S
• The German Constitution
guarantees freedom of
expression, freedom of the
press, and freedom to receive
information, among other
enumerated
communication rights, to every
person. ... The
communication rights may only
be limited by general laws.
• In Germany there’s
no punishment for a prisoner
who tries to escape from jail,
because it
is a basic human instinct to be
free.
• “Freedom is the basis of every
community, of peace and of
justice in the world”

13. M Y O P I N I O N
I pretty like the way of how Germany
governed themselves. And how they
elected their President and the parties.

14. F L A G ( C O L O R S O F C O A T O F A R M S O F G E R M A N Y
S I G N , U N I F O R M O F L U T Z O W F R E E C O R P S W H O
F O U G H T N A P O L E O N )
GOLD (NOT YELLOW)
RED
BLACK

15. C O AT O F A R M S O F G E R M A N Y
• The Coat of Arms of Germany displays a black eagle
with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden
field, which is blazoned: Or an eagle displayed sable
beaked langued and membered gules. ... It is one of the
oldest coats of arms in the world, and today
the oldest national symbol used in Europe.
• This is the Bundesadler (German for "Federal Eagle"),
formerly known as Reichsadler (German for "Imperial
Eagle").
• To the Germanic tribes the eagle was the bird of the god
Odin, and by the Romans, too, it was revered as the
symbol of the supreme god, of the emperor and of
invincibility.
• Even long ago, in the Orient and in Antiquity, amongst the
Germanics and the Romans, the eagle was revered in
particular as a symbol of the supreme deity, of vitality
and of the sun.
• IT HAS THE SAME COLOR AS THEIR FLAG

16. F O O D
• Germeny is the world's largest rye and hop producer.
• There are over 300 different kinds of bread in the countries.
• German knows every way to cook a pig.
• Have more than 1000 types of sausage.

17. FOR
LISTENING