<P> Germany (/ ˈdʒɜːrməni / (listen); German: Deutschland, pronounced (ˈdɔʏtʃlant)), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, listen (help info)), is a federal parliamentary republic in central - western Europe . It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union . After the United States, it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world . Germany's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, with its main centres of Dortmund and Essen . The country's other major cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Bremen, Dresden, Hannover and Nuremberg . </P> <P> Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD . During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward . Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Confederation was formed in 1815 . The German revolutions of 1848--49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights . </P> <P> In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian - dominated German Empire . After World War I and the revolution of 1918--19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic . The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, World War II and the Holocaust . After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded: the democratic West Germany and the socialist East Germany . Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990 . </P> <P> In the 21st century, Germany is a great power with a strong economy; it has the world's 4th largest economy by nominal GDP, and the 5th largest by PPP . As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the world's third - largest exporter and importer of goods . It is a developed country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled and productive society . It upholds a social security and universal health care system, environmental protection, and a tuition - free university education . </P>

When did germany become a country the first time