Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany is located in Central Europe surrounded by Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. Germany is about the size of Montana and covers an area of 357,021 sq. kilometers.  The total population is 81.15 million, making Germany the most populous country in Europe. The population is shrinking at a rate of 0.19% with 74% living in urban areas.  The capital of Berlin has a population of 3.4 million with other main cities including Hamburg (1.7 mil), Munich (1.2 mil), Cologne (964,000), and Frankfurt (644,000). The people are governed by a federal republic, the primary language used is German, and the local currency is the Euro. Germany was a founding member of the EU and was part of the first group to adopt the Euro as currency in 1999.

Germany has the strongest economy in Europe and is one of the leading economies in the world.  Germany’s main trade partners are mostly in the EU including France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, the UK, Spain, and Austria but also include the US and China. Its primary imports are machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, and metals. Exports include machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, and textiles. Germany’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $3.123 trillion and is growing at a real rate of 0.7% with an inflation rate of 2%. Germany ranked 20th out of 185 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.  

 Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Germany

Doing Business in Germany (2012)

Franchising Law - Germany (2010)

Reform of European Union Rules on Distribution (2010)

European Commission's New Block Exemption Rules Enter Into Force June 1 (2010)

Is Europe a Fit for Your Franchise? (2010)

News From Around the World: Franchising in the EU  (2008)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).  

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org  

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise. 

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