Country Details
Isle of Man1
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
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Geography
Detailed information and insights
Location
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates
51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references
Europe
Area
Total
357,022 sq km
Land
348,672 sq km
Water
8,350 sq km
Area - comparative
three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries
Total
3,694 km
Border countries
Austria 801 km; Belgium 133 km; Czechia 704 km; Denmark 140 km; France 418 km; Luxembourg 128 km; Netherlands 575 km; Poland 447 km; Switzerland 348 km
Coastline
2,389 km
Maritime claims
Territorial sea
12 nm
Exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Continental shelf
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrain
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation
Highest point
Zugspitze 2,963 m
Lowest point
Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m
Mean elevation
263 m
Natural resources
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land use
Agricultural land
47.5% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 33.4% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.6% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 13.5% (2023 est.)
Forest
32.8% (2023 est.)
Other
15% (2023 est.)
Irrigated land
5,065 sq km (2020)
Major lakes (area sq km)
Fresh water lake(s)
Lake Constance (shared with Switzerland and Austria) - 540 sq km
Salt water lake(s)
Stettiner Haff/Zalew Szczecinski (shared with Poland) - 900 sq km
Major rivers (by length in km)
Donau (Danube) river source (shared with Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Elbe river mouth (shared with Czechia [s]) - 1,252 km; Rhein (Rhine) (shared with Switzerland [s], France, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km
note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)
Population distribution
second most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far-western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Natural hazards
flooding
Geography - note
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany -- the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe -- flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward