Official Name: Federal Republic of Germany
Population: 82,218,000
Capital: Berlin - Pop. 3,400,000
Area: 357,021 sq. km. / 221,843 sq. miles.
Language: German
Religion: Protestanism, Catholicism, Non-believers
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 49
Germany has become one of the most progressive European nations on the issue of gay rights. Homosexuality was legalized in 1969. The age of consent is now 16 for female-female, male-male and female-male activity. Homosexuals are not banned from military service. In the field of employment, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal throughout Germany. The country was the first in the world to include "gender identity" nationally in anti-discrimination laws. There is legal recognition of same-sex couples. Registered life partnerships (effectively, a form of civil union) have been instituted since 2001, giving same-sex couples rights and obligations in areas such as inheritance, alimony, health insurance, immigration and name change. In 2004, this act was amended to also give registered same-sex couples adoption rights (stepchild adoption only), as well as reform previously cumbersome dissolution procedures with regard to division of property and alimony--but do not enjoy the tax benefits of marriage. Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit is openly gay.
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