INFORMATION

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Quick Facts about Germany

Transatlantic Relations

Political and Security Relations

Germany and the United States of America are bound by a robust friendship founded on shared experience, values and interests. In the post-war period the United States initially provided political support and economic assistance under the Marshall Plan to West Germany. Without the United States as guarantor of freedom in the decades of the Cold War, Germany would not have been able to regain its national unity as a free nation.

As leading examples, both countries embody the principles of individual, inviolable freedom on the one hand and the rule of law and participation on the other. In associations such as the United Nations, both pursue freedom, democracy and human rights – but also free trade, prosperity and sustainable development for all the world's peoples.

Germany is a close ally of the U.S. in the fight against international terrorism. There is also close cooperation between the two countries in disaster relief and efforts to settle international conflicts. Prime examples are the deployments in Afghanistan and the Balkans, where Germany has made available nearly 8,000 soldiers, making it one of the largest providers of troops after the U.S.

Economic Relations

The U.S. is Germany's principal trading partner outside the EU. The year 2006 saw once again an increase in the volume of bilateral trade in goods (on a euro basis). German exports to the U.S. grew by 12.6% and German imports from the U.S. by as much as 16.1% compared to 2005. The two countries are important to each other as locations for investment: the U.S. is the main investment destination for German companies and the largest foreign investor in Germany.

Cultural Relations

Cultural relations are wide-ranging. Every year hundreds of thousands of people travel across the Atlantic – as tourists, visitors in the many exchange programs or as artists and performers, scientists, academics and students. Some 16 to 17 million American soldiers and dependants lived in Germany in the years after the Second World War, coming to appreciate the country but at the same time being ambassadors for the American way of life. Hundreds of thousands of German students have studied in the U.S. German takes third place after Spanish and French among the foreign languages taught at private secondary schools, colleges and universities in the U.S.

More Information on the Internet

For more information about Germany, German-American relations or other topics, please visit www.germany.info.