Germany vs. Luxembourg
Geography
| Germany | Luxembourg | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Western Europe, between France and Germany |
| Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 49 45 N, 6 10 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km | total: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Rhode Island; about half the size of Delaware |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,694 km border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km | total: 327 km border countries (3): Belgium 130 km, France 69 km, Germany 128 km |
| Coastline | 2,389 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers |
| Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m mean elevation: 263 m | highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m lowest point: Moselle River 133 m mean elevation: 325 m |
| Natural resources | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.) arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.) forest: 31.8% (2018 est.) other: 20.2% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 50.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 24% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 26.1% (2018 est.) forest: 33.5% (2018 est.) other: 15.8% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 6,500 sq km (2012) | 0 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding | occasional flooding |
| Environment - current issues | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland; unsustainable patterns of consumption (transport, energy, recreation, space) threaten biodiversity and landscapes |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward | landlocked; the only grand duchy in the world |
| Total renewable water resources | 154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 3.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia | most people live in the south, on or near the border with France |
Source: CIA Factbook
