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Germany: Government

Key Figures

Chief of State:
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Head of Government:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Overview

Government Name:
Federal Republic of Germany
Constitution:
Adopted: 1949; democratic constitution emphasizes the protection of individual liberty and division of powers in a federal structure. Influenced both by Roman and German law traditions.
Government Type:
Federal Republic
Federal Republic of Germany Flag
Coat of Arms of Federal Republic of Germany

Index of Economic Freedom

Grades each country on a scale of 0 to 100, based on ten freedoms, with 100 representing the greatest amount of economic autonomy from government intervention. Source: Heritage Foundation (2023)

Country Risk Rating

A3
Changes in generally good but somewhat volatile political and economic environment can affect corporate payment behavior. A basically secure business environment can nonetheless give rise to occasional difficulties for companies. Corporate default probability is quite acceptable on average. Source: Coface (2025)

Government Branches

Main Powers Election Process Election Cycle 1
Executive

Consists of the federal president and the federal cabinet.

The federal president is elected by indirect vote, while the chancellor is elected by parliament.

President: 5 years; Chancellor: 4 years
Judicial

Consists of the federal constitutional court, who has responsibility for supreme court decisions.

One half is elected by each division of parliament.

12 year terms with mandatory retirement age of 68
Legislative

The Bundestag and Bundesrat are responsible for legislation.

The federal council (Bundesrat) has 69 members who are filled by regional legislatures. The federal diet (Bundestag) are elected by a plurality vote in single-member constituencies and are allocated by popular vote through a mixed-member proportional system.

4 years

Regional Trade Blocs
European Union

International Organization Participation [2]

Environmental Agreements [3]

Tax Information [2]

Tax Authority:
German Ministry of Finance
Tax Name:
VAT

Sources:

  1. ElectionGuide http://www.electionguide.org/
  2. EY, http://www.ey.com
  3. CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/
  4. U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/