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
States of Germany other states there are the following subdivisions: The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two area associations ("Landschaftsverbände"), one for the Rhineland, and one for Westphalia-Lippe. This arrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regions into a single state after World War II. The "Landschaftsverbände" now have very little power. The constitution of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at §75 states the right of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern to form "Landschaftsverbände", although these two constituent parts of the state are not represented in the current administrative division. The large states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse,