German and Chinese History - Research Paper Example

The history of Germany is quite old and the reference to the country named Germany dates back to 100 AD. Over the period of time, Germany however, emerged as a unified and strong State after overcoming different political conflicts and differences. Germany also was the key player in both the World Wars and remained one of the most volatile countries in the region.

The overall area of Germany is 357,022 sq km out of which 348,672 sq km comprises land whereas the rest of the area is water.  (CIA World Fact Book, 2011). The total population of the country is over 81 million out of which 74% of the population is living in the urban areas whereas the rest is in the rural areas. The overall rate of urbanization in the country is zero suggesting that the relocation is relatively stationary. Out of the total population of the country, almost 92% of the population is Germany whereas approximately 2.5% of the population is Turkish whereas the rest is a mix of Russians, Greeks and Polish people. The overall religious mix of the country suggests that both Roman Catholics and Protestants are from the majority whereas 3.7% of the population is Muslim and the rest is unidentified or other. The overall literacy rate is almost 100%.

China is considered one of the oldest civilizations in the world with rich history and culture dating back to thousands of years. The modern history of China, however, indicates that China has emerged as a strong country successfully dealing with challenges such as Imperialism and Western occupation. China is situated in Asia and is the largest economy in the region. China is a communist country and as against Germany, its economy is centrally managed by the government through its various institutions. The centrally managed nature of the economy means most of the institutions and businesses are directly or indirectly owned by the government.

The overall area of China is 9,596,961 sq km whereas the total population of the country is over 1.3 Billion thus making it a more populous as well as a larger country than Germany. (BBC, 2011) China is the highest populated country in the world, therefore, is also a much larger economy as compared to Germany and is now considered as the second-largest economy of the world after the United States of America.

The overall composition of the population suggests that the Han Chinese forms the major chunk of the population and is the major cultural group within the country. However, there are also other nationalities living in the country also including Zhuang, Manchu, etc. thus making it a culturally diverse country as opposed to Germany.