Germany is Europe's most populous nation and remains one of the world's leading industrial powers, despite the economic demands of re-unification. Some 82 million people, including a settled population of approximately 7.3 million non-Germans, live in the 357,000 square kilometre country at the heart of the continent, sharing borders with nine other nations.

In 1949, as a result of the Second World War, Germany was divided into two states: the Federal Republic of Germany, boasting a free-market economy, and the socialist German Democratic Republic. The Federal Republic joined the European Community, while the GDR was a member of the Warsaw Pact.

A peaceful revolution in 1989 led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification in 1990. The Brandenburg Gate in the new (and former) capital Berlin now stands as a monument to lasting peace and freedom.

Football for men and women is far and away Germany's most popular sport. The German Football Association (DFB), founded in 1900, boasts 6,563,997 members belonging to 25,856 clubs, far exceeding any other sport in the country. At 1,002,605 the number of girls and women registered with the DFB has passed the one million mark for the first time in the association's 108-year history. In another new record, the DFB database shows now fewer than 319,379 female players aged 16 and under.

The figures bear witness to the impressive development of the game and stand as testimony to the immense passion football inspires in people of all ages.

A state-of-the-art road, rail and air transportation network guarantees match-goers at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 a tournament of short distances. Overseas visitors, who chalked up 52.9 million overnight stays in the year of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, have already learned to appreciate the country's excellent and extensive infrastructure.

See you in Germany for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011!