Germany vs United Kingdom

Germany is 1.5 times larger than United Kingdom — 357,022 against 243,610 km². Germany is 1.2 times more populous than United Kingdom — 83,491,249 against 69,487,000 people.

Side by side

Population density

United Kingdom is 1.2 times more densely populated than Germany — 285 against 234 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

Practical differences

• They drive on opposite sides — Germany on the right, United Kingdom on the left.
• Different currencies: the Euro and the British pound.

Germany

Germany borders nine countries, more than any other in Europe. The Rhine carries more freight than any other river in Europe. The country has around 25,000 castles and palaces, and the Black Forest and Bavarian Alps mean about a third of it is wooded.

United Kingdom

Made up of Great Britain, the north-east of Ireland and around 6,000 smaller islands. No point in the UK is more than about 113 km from the sea. Ben Nevis, the highest point, is 1,345 m, which is modest — but the country has around 31,000 km of coastline once every inlet is counted.

Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.