Germany is a country that lies in West-Central Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea in the North, by Poland and the Czech Republic in the East, by Austria and Switzerland in the South and on the West by France, Luxembourg , the Netherlands and Belgium.
Officially, Germany is called the Federal Republic of Germany. It is the seventh largest country in Europe, and boasts the second largest population after Russia. The region ranges from the mountains of the Alps to forested uplands of Central Germany.
The majority of Germany experiences a cool and rather temperate climate. In the North-West and North the climate is Oceanic, with rainfall all year round - most falling about or during the Summer. Due to the rainfall, the summers are cooler, although temperatures have been known to reach high points. Much like the Summer, the Winter season in the North is generally very temperate, but are very cold in the East. Summers about here are very dry and hot. Central and Southern Germany enjoy moderately oceanic and continental climates.
Germany 's government is a federal parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The political system runs under a constitutional document called the Grundgesetz. In order to amend the Grundgesetz two thirds of both chambers need to agree to the changes.
The two chambers are the Bundestag (a deliberative assembly) and the Bundesrat (the federal council). The Bundestag is gathered through direct election, whereas the members of the Bundesrat are representatives from the governments of the sixteen separate federal states. The Bundestag elects the Chancellor, after nominations from the President, who becomes the Head of Government. The Bundestag also elects its own President, who leads the assembly meetings. The Head of State is the President of Germany, who is appointed by the federal assembly (Bundesversammlung) once every five years.
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