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 states, excluding Berlin, qualify as "Objective 1" development regions within the European Union, and are eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013. The "German Unity Transport Projects" (, VDE) is a programme launched in 1991 and meant to upgrade the infrastructure of eastern Germany, and modernise transport links between the old and new federal states. The programme consists of nine railway and seven motorway projects, as well as one waterway project, with a total funding of €38.5 billion. As of 2009, all 17 projects are either under construction or have already been completed. The construction of