Brief History
One of the most significant things that has happened in Germany was when Martin Luther brought on the Protestant Reformation with his criticism of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg in 1517, a movement that sparked the Thirty Years War. Germany became the battlefield of Europe, only regaining stability after the Napoleonic Wars with increasing industrialisation and the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1866 legendary Prussian ‘Iron Chancellor’ Otto von Bismarck brought the German states together, largely by force, and a united Germany emerged for the first time in 1871, under Kaiser Wilhelm.
In 1929 the worldwide economic Depression hit Germany hard, leading to unemployment, strikes and demonstrations. The Communist Party under Ernst Thälmann gained strength, but wealthy industrialists began to support the Nazis and police turned a blind eye to Nazi street thugs.
Current news
” Germany's current economic success offers a good platform for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth, but further reforms will be necessary over the medium and long term. Among the priorities are making the tax system more socially just and environment-friendly, strengthening the financial sector, so that it is better able to absorb future risks, increasing the contribution of the service sector and creating greater equality of opportunity in the education system and in the labour market. However, problems arose from the rapid growth of the low-wage sector and the large number of temporary workers.”
Germany’s population in 2012 was 82,020,578
Their median age is 46.1 years
Education Levels
Grundschule = elementary, grades 1-4
after Grundschule, children get sorted according to their performance into one of three types of school :
1. Hauptschule, grades 5 -9 or 10, prepares for low blue-collar jobs (and often for unemployment, this type of school is most looked-down at)
2. Realschule, grades 5 - 10, prepares for blue-collar and non-academic white-collar jobs
(Hauptschul- and Realschul-students either change to a higher type of school or start an apprenticeship after finishing school)
3. Gymnasium, grades 5 -12 , gives permission to go to university (Hauptschule and Realschule don't)
Germanys racial make up is German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italian 0.7%, Greek 0.4%, Polish 0.4%, other 4.6%
Germany’s life expectancy is 81 years old.
Religion in Germany – Christianity. About 65% to 70% of the population are followers of the Christian religion in Germany. They are more or less evenly split between the mainstream denominations of Lutheran-Protestantism and Calvinism united in the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) and the Roman Catholic Church
Germanys GDP
3.4 trillion USD (2012)
Average Income
In Germany, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is 30 721 USD a year, higher than the OECD average of 23 938 USD.
How does Germany make money?
Germany makes some of their money by fishing. Germany has a lot of rivers including the Rhine, Danube, Oder, Elbe, and Weser. They also make money by their natural resources including coal, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel and uranium.
Levels of exports and imports
The value of German exports, adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, jumped 7.3 percent to 98.2 billion euros ($141.1 billion) in March - their highest level since the Federal Statistical Office began tracking such data in 1950. The nation's current account surplus, a measure of all trade including services, widened to 18.8 billion euros in March from 11.9 billion in February. This year German government expects economic growth of 2.6 percent following a record expansion of 3.6 percent in 2010.
Who does Germany trade with?
Germany trades with France, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands,Austria, Belgium, Canada and Spain.
Trade Agreements
German-Canadian trade relations are regulated via trade agreements with the European Union. In 1976, Canada and the EU signed the first-ever Framework Agreement for Commercial and Economic Cooperation between the EU and an industrialized country.
Sources:
"Germany." History of. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/history#ixzz31pIM8H78>.
"Germany has more jobs, but more inequality." - The Local. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.thelocal.de/20140513/german-economy-creates-more-jobs-but-more-inequality>.
"Income taxes 'to be cut from 2016'." - The Local. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.thelocal.de/20140505/german-income-taxes-to-be-cut-by-2016>.
"Export, Innovate, Invest - The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service." Site of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service to help companies do business abroad: market studies, contacts abroad, services of our offices abroad.. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=61472>.
One of the most significant things that has happened in Germany was when Martin Luther brought on the Protestant Reformation with his criticism of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg in 1517, a movement that sparked the Thirty Years War. Germany became the battlefield of Europe, only regaining stability after the Napoleonic Wars with increasing industrialisation and the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1866 legendary Prussian ‘Iron Chancellor’ Otto von Bismarck brought the German states together, largely by force, and a united Germany emerged for the first time in 1871, under Kaiser Wilhelm.
In 1929 the worldwide economic Depression hit Germany hard, leading to unemployment, strikes and demonstrations. The Communist Party under Ernst Thälmann gained strength, but wealthy industrialists began to support the Nazis and police turned a blind eye to Nazi street thugs.
Current news
- Germany's
economy gathered momentum in the first three months of the year with gross
domestic product (GDP) growing by 0.8 percent - twice as much as the previous
quarter. Growth was driven by the mild winter and private consumption.
- Germany has more jobs, but more
inequality
” Germany's current economic success offers a good platform for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth, but further reforms will be necessary over the medium and long term. Among the priorities are making the tax system more socially just and environment-friendly, strengthening the financial sector, so that it is better able to absorb future risks, increasing the contribution of the service sector and creating greater equality of opportunity in the education system and in the labour market. However, problems arose from the rapid growth of the low-wage sector and the large number of temporary workers.”
- Finance minister Wolfgang
Schäuble spoke last week about cutting income tax to reduce what is
known as “tax bracket creep” under which employees who get pay rises slip into
higher tax groups, making their net pay lower than before.According to
Spiegel this tax cut would be two percent and could now be introduced in
2016.However, the plan would depend on backing from the Conservative-led
government’s junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), who have
campaigned against tax cuts.SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel is largely supportive of
the plan, but leading members of his party on Monday warned against any tax
cuts without raising government revenues elsewhere.
Germany’s population in 2012 was 82,020,578
Their median age is 46.1 years
Education Levels
Grundschule = elementary, grades 1-4
after Grundschule, children get sorted according to their performance into one of three types of school :
1. Hauptschule, grades 5 -9 or 10, prepares for low blue-collar jobs (and often for unemployment, this type of school is most looked-down at)
2. Realschule, grades 5 - 10, prepares for blue-collar and non-academic white-collar jobs
(Hauptschul- and Realschul-students either change to a higher type of school or start an apprenticeship after finishing school)
3. Gymnasium, grades 5 -12 , gives permission to go to university (Hauptschule and Realschule don't)
Germanys racial make up is German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italian 0.7%, Greek 0.4%, Polish 0.4%, other 4.6%
Germany’s life expectancy is 81 years old.
Religion in Germany – Christianity. About 65% to 70% of the population are followers of the Christian religion in Germany. They are more or less evenly split between the mainstream denominations of Lutheran-Protestantism and Calvinism united in the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) and the Roman Catholic Church
Germanys GDP
3.4 trillion USD (2012)
Average Income
In Germany, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is 30 721 USD a year, higher than the OECD average of 23 938 USD.
How does Germany make money?
Germany makes some of their money by fishing. Germany has a lot of rivers including the Rhine, Danube, Oder, Elbe, and Weser. They also make money by their natural resources including coal, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel and uranium.
Levels of exports and imports
The value of German exports, adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, jumped 7.3 percent to 98.2 billion euros ($141.1 billion) in March - their highest level since the Federal Statistical Office began tracking such data in 1950. The nation's current account surplus, a measure of all trade including services, widened to 18.8 billion euros in March from 11.9 billion in February. This year German government expects economic growth of 2.6 percent following a record expansion of 3.6 percent in 2010.
Who does Germany trade with?
Germany trades with France, United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands,Austria, Belgium, Canada and Spain.
Trade Agreements
German-Canadian trade relations are regulated via trade agreements with the European Union. In 1976, Canada and the EU signed the first-ever Framework Agreement for Commercial and Economic Cooperation between the EU and an industrialized country.
Sources:
"Germany." History of. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/history#ixzz31pIM8H78>.
"Germany has more jobs, but more inequality." - The Local. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.thelocal.de/20140513/german-economy-creates-more-jobs-but-more-inequality>.
"Income taxes 'to be cut from 2016'." - The Local. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.thelocal.de/20140505/german-income-taxes-to-be-cut-by-2016>.
"Export, Innovate, Invest - The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service." Site of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service to help companies do business abroad: market studies, contacts abroad, services of our offices abroad.. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=61472>.