States of Germany States of Germany Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen states (, plural ; informally and very commonly , plural ). Since today's Germany was formed from an earlier collection of several states, it has a federal constitution, and the constituent states retain a measure of sovereignty. With an emphasis on geographical conditions, Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called ' (city-states), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which in fact includes the cities of and . The remaining 13 states are called ' (literally: "area states"). The creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was
New states of Germany it existed in both East and West, only in the East was it a mass cultural phenomenon in which almost everybody participated. This can still be seen at beaches of former East Germany compared to their West German counterparts. More children are born out of wedlock in eastern Germany than in western Germany. In 2009, in eastern Germany 61% of births were to unmarried women, while in western Germany 27% were. The states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the highest rate of birth outside wedlock, each with 64%, followed by Brandenburg with 62%. The state of Baden-Württemberg had the