First-level administrative subdivisions of the Federal Republic of Germany
This article is about the states of modern Germany. For other uses, see States of Germany (disambiguation).
"Regions of Germany" redirects here. For other uses, see Regions of Germany (disambiguation).
German states
Baden- Württemberg
Bavaria
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Hesse
Lower Saxony
Mecklenburg- Vorpommern
North Rhine- Westphalia
Rhineland- Palatinate
Saarland
Saxony
Saxony- Anhalt
Schleswig- Holstein
Thuringia
Luxembourg
Poland
France
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium
Austria
Czech Republic
Switzerland
North Sea
Baltic Sea
Category
Federated state
Location
Germany
Number
16
Areas
419.4 km2 (161.92 sq mi) (Bremen) – 70,549.4 km2 (27,239.29 sq mi) (Bavaria)
Government
State government
Subdivisions
Borough, District, Amt, Governmental district
This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Germany
Constitution (Basic Law)
Federal Constitutional Court
Human rights
Head of State
President of Germany
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD)
Executive
Chancellor of Germany (list)
Olaf Scholz (SPD)
Vice Chancellor of Germany
Robert Habeck (Grüne)
Cabinet
Scholz
Federal agencies
Legislature
Bundestag
constituencies
members
Bundesrat
Vermittlungsausschuss
Gemeinsamer Ausschuss
Judiciary
Federal Constitutional Court
Federal courts
Ordinary
Administrative
Fiscal
Labour
Social
Joint Senate
Other courts
Subdivisions
State (Land)
Minister president
State Parliament (Landtag)
composition
Regierungsbezirk
District (Kreis)
list
Collective municipality (Amt)
Municipality (Gemeinde)
list
Elections
Electoral system
Political parties
Referendums
Coalitions
Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung)
Presidential elections
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)
1919
1925
1932
East Germany (1949–1960)
1949
1953
1957
Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949)
1949
1954
1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
2010
2012
2017
2022
Parliamentary election
1867 (Feb)
1867 (Aug)
1868
1871
1874
1877
1878
1881
1884
1887
1890
1893
1898
1903
1907
1912
1919
1920
1924 (May)
1924 (Dec)
1928
1930
1932 (July)
1932 (Nov)
1933 (Mar)
1933 (Nov)
1936
1938
1949
1953
1957
1961
1965
1969
1972
1976
1980
1983
1987
1990
1994
1998
2002
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
Next
European elections
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
2014
2019
2024
State and local politics
State Politics
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Hesse
Lower Saxony
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia
Foreign relations
Foreign relations by country
France
Italy
UK
USA
China
Russia
International Relations
Politics of the European Union
Visa
Passport
Political ideologies
Political culture
Communism
Conservatism (Agrarian Conservatism)
Far-right
Liberalism
Social Democracy
Germany portal
Politics portal
Other countries
v
t
e
The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen states (German: Länder, sing. Land; colloquially also (sing.) Bundesland/(pl.) Bundesländer, "Federate State/s").[1][2] Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen (with its seaport exclave, Bremerhaven) are called Stadtstaaten ("city-states"), while the other thirteen states are called Flächenländer ("area states") and include Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia which describe themselves as Freistaaten ("free states").
The Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") was created in 1949 through the unification of the three western zones previously under American, British, and French administration in the aftermath of World War II. Initially, the states of the Federal Republic were Baden (until 1952), Bavaria (in German: Bayern), Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse (Hessen), Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Schleswig-Holstein, Württemberg-Baden (until 1952), and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (until 1952). West Berlin, while still under occupation by the Western Allies, viewed itself as part of the Federal Republic and was largely integrated and considered a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged into Baden-Württemberg. In 1957, the Saar Protectorate joined the Federal Republic as the state of Saarland.
The next change occurred with German reunification in 1990, in which the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of the re-established eastern states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), and Thuringia (Thüringen), and the reunification of West and East Berlin into a city state. A referendum in 1996 to merge Berlin with surrounding Brandenburg failed to reach the necessary majority vote in Brandenburg, while a majority of Berliners voted in favour.
Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany. According to the German constitution, some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and the federation. The states retain residual or exclusive legislative authority for all other areas, including "culture", which in Germany includes not only topics such as the financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training (see Education in Germany). Though international relations including international treaties are primarily the responsibility of the federal level, the constituent states have certain limited powers in this area: in matters that affect them directly, the states defend their interests at the federal level through the Bundesrat ("Federal Council"), and in areas where they have the legislative authority they have limited powers to conclude international treaties "with the consent of the federal government".[3]
^Christian Tomuschat, David P. Currie (April 2010). "Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany" (PDF). Deutscher Bundestag Public Relations Division. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
^House of Commons of the United Kingdom (28 February 1991). "House of Commons debates (Welsh affairs)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
^Leonardy, Uwe (1998). "Länder Power-Sharing in International Relations and European Affairs". The institutional structures of German federalism. Working papers / Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, London Office (electronic ed.). Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
The Federal Republic ofGermany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen states (German: Länder, sing. Land; colloquially also (sing.) Bundesland/(pl.) Bundesländer...
Thuringia The new statesofGermany (die neuen Länder / die neuen Bundesländer) are the five re-established statesof the former German Democratic Republic...
The old statesofGermany (German: die alten Länder) is a jargon referring to the ten of the sixteen statesof the Federal Republic ofGermany (FRG) that...
(outside the confederation). List of former sovereign states List ofstates in the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) StatesofGermany, about the modern states...
The German Empire consisted of 25 constituent states and an imperial territory, the largest of which was Prussia. These states, or Staaten (or Bundesstaaten...
The statesof the German Confederation were member statesof the German Confederation, from 20 June 1815 until 24 August 1866. On the whole, its territory...
regional product (GRP) ofGermanstates in main fiscal years. Most figures are from the Federal Statistical Office ofGermany; figures from other sources...
The Statesof the Weimar Republic were the first-level administrative divisions and constituent statesof the German Reich during the Weimar Republic era...
All Germanstates have a Landesflagge (flag of the state, sometimes known as a civil flag), that may be used by anyone. Some states have another variant...
century. There is a German belt consisting of areas with predominantly German American populations that extends across the United States from eastern Pennsylvania...
demography ofGermany is monitored by the Statistisches Bundesamt (Federal Statistical Office ofGermany). According to the most recent data, Germany's population...
The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation ofGermany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These...
constituent statesofGermany are divided into a total of 401 administrative Kreis or Landkreis; these consist of 294 rural districts (German: Landkreise...
The gross regional product (GDP) per capita of the Germanstates is given in this article in nominal values, shown in euros. For easy comparison, all GRP...
following is a list of heads of government of the sixteen statesofGermany. List of chancellors ofGermany Cabinet ofGermany All heads of government are...
south-east ofGermany. With an area of 70,550.19 km2 (27,239.58 sq mi), Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total...
statesof Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hamburg and Bremen. It contrasts with Southern Germany,...
state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. Its 16 constituent states are...
This is a list ofGermanstates by Human Development Index (HDI) as of 2021. Human Development Index ofGermanstates since 1995. List of countries by Human...
chancellor ofGermany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic ofGermany, is the head of the federal government ofGermany, and the commander...
area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among the sixteen Germanstates. Frankfurt...
This is list of former German colonies owned by statesofGermany: Groß Friedrichsburg (in Ghana), 1683–1718 Arguin (in Mauritania), 1685–1721 Whydah (in...
overview of and topical guide to Germany: Germany – federal parliamentary republic in Western-Central Europe consisting of 16 constituent states (German: Bundesland)...
The German Bundesrat (lit. Federal Council; pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁaːt]) is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder (federated states) of Germany...
of Germanstates under the leadership of the Austrian Empire), thus paving the way for the Lesser German version ofGerman unification in the form of a...
central Europe for most of the medieval and early modern periods and was generally ruled by a German-speaking Emperor. The states that composed the Empire...
Southern Germany (German: Süddeutschland) is a region ofGermany that included the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, which includes the...
Global Information
