At One Place

Which came first, Germany or the United States?

Which came first, Germany or the United States?
the United States
1776 — 95 years before Germany

the United States came first, by 95 years. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Side by side

Germany the United States
Year 1871 1776
Date 1871-01-18 1776-07-04
Category country country
What happened The German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Germany

Germany as a unified state dates from 1871, which makes it younger than the United States, Canada, Italy and the bicycle. It then ceased to exist as a single state in 1949 and was reunified on 3 October 1990, so the current Federal Republic in its present borders is younger than the personal computer. Nintendo, founded in 1889, is older than most people's mental image of Germany allows.

the United States

The date used here is the Declaration, 4 July 1776, which is the one people mean. Two others have equal claim: Britain recognised independence in 1783, and the Constitution took effect in 1789, so the current government is younger than the country by thirteen years. The United States is older as a state than Germany (1871), Italy (1861), Canada (1867) and modern Japan (1868).

Common questions

Which came first, Germany or the United States?
the United States, by 95 years — 1776 against 1871.
When did Germany start?
1871. The German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles.
When did the United States start?
1776. The Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked