Germany Germany Germany ( ), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (, ), is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west. Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With nearly 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the
Country-of-origin effect associated with a particular country, such as (in the Western world) silk with China, spices with India, wine with France, chocolate with Belgium, cars with Germany, fashion with Italy and electronics with Japan. Such products labeled as originating in that country will benefit from a halo effect, with consumers assuming they are high quality. Countries that are less economically developed tend to have a negative country image and a negative country-of-origin effect. Associations vary by country and region. Japan is universally understood to manufacture high-quality products, and yet historical animosity between it and some other Eastern Asian countries may reduce