Key facts about Germany
5 to 10 facts that help explain what makes the country distinctive.
A motorway network largely without speed limits
A substantial part of the German motorway network (Autobahn) has no general speed limit, a singularity in Europe.
The birthplace of modern printing
It was in Mainz, around 1450, that Johannes Gutenberg developed the first printing press with movable metal type, an invention that revolutionised the spread of the written word in Europe.
A dual vocational training system copied abroad
German apprenticeships combine in-company training with vocational school (duale Ausbildung). This model, associated with low youth unemployment, inspires reforms in several countries in Europe and beyond.
An almost universal deposit on beverage containers
Since 2003, most single-use bottles and cans have carried a deposit (Pfand). The consumer return rate exceeded 98% in 2021.
More than two million asylum applications processed between 2015 and 2017
After the peak of 2015 (476,649 asylum applications, a record), Germany processed nearly two million asylum procedures between 2015 and 2017, an influx unmatched among European countries over that period.