<P> In 2009, a liberal - conservative coalition under Merkel assumed leadership of the country . In 2013, a grand coalition was established in a Third Merkel cabinet . Among the major German political projects of the early 21st century are the advancement of European integration, the energy transition (Energiewende) for a sustainable energy supply, the "Debt Brake" for balanced budgets, measures to increase the fertility rate significantly (pronatalism), and high - tech strategies for the future transition of the German economy, summarised as Industry 4.0 . </P> <P> Germany was affected by the European migrant crisis in 2015 as it became the final destination of choice for many asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East entering the EU . The country took in over a million refugees and migrants and developed a quota system which redistributed migrants around its federal states based on their tax income and existing population density . </P> <P> Germany is in Western and Central Europe, with Denmark bordering to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria to the southeast, Switzerland to the south - southwest, France, Luxembourg and Belgium lie to the west, and the Netherlands to the northwest . It lies mostly between latitudes 47 ° and 55 ° N and longitudes 5 ° and 16 ° E. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north - northeast, by the Baltic Sea . With Switzerland and Austria, Germany also shares a border on the fresh - water Lake Constance, the third largest lake in Central Europe . German territory covers 357,021 km (137,847 sq mi), consisting of 349,223 km (134,836 sq mi) of land and 7,798 km (3,011 sq mi) of water . It is the seventh largest country by area in Europe and the 62nd largest in the world . </P> <P> Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres or 9,718 feet) in the south to the shores of the North Sea (Nordsee) in the northwest and the Baltic Sea (Ostsee) in the northeast . The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres or 11.6 feet below sea level) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe . Germany's alpine glaciers are experiencing deglaciation . Significant natural resources include iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land and water . </P>

Where is germany located on the world map