10 Things You Might Not Know About Germany

Germany is a member of the United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treay Organization (NATO), the G8, the G4 nations, and signed the Kyoto protocol.

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the third largest by nominal GDP in the world, and ranked fifth by GDP (PPP), its growth rate in 2007 was 2.4%.

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Germany was the world's largest exporter of goods in 2007.

Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines and solar power technology in the world.

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Germany is the world’s fifth largest consumer of energy, and two-thirds of its primary energy was imported.

By its central position in Europe, Germany is an important transportation hub. This is reflected in its dense and modern transportation networks.

German sportsmen have been some of the most successful contenders in the Olympic Games, ranking third in an all-time Olympic Games medal count, combining East and West German medals.

Germany claims some of the world's most renowned classical music composers, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner.

Military Service is compulsory for men at the age of 18, and conscripts serve nine-month tours of duty.

The ten biggest German Companies are Daimler, Volkswagen, Allianz (the most profitable company), Siemens, Deutsche Bank (2nd most profitable company), E.ON, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Metro and BASF.