Germany is a federal state. A federal state is created when several states in a country join together to form a larger union. In Germany, the states are called Bundesländer (sing.: Bundesland). For example, there is North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Bavaria. Altogether there are 16 Bundesländer, including the so-called city states of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Political power is divided up between the central (federal) government in Berlin and the governments of the different Bundesländer. For example, the federal government represents the country abroad (foreign affairs). This form of power division between the federal government and the states is called federalism. The word comes from the Latin word "foedus” meaning "league” or "treaty”.


The individual Bundesländer with their governments, which include a prime minister (Ministerpräsident) and ministers, decide on the way the police are organised or on education and cultural policies. This can mean that a final exam in Bavaria is assessed differently than in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The way the various tasks are shared between the two political levels – the federal government and the Bundesländer – is laid down in the German constitution (Grundgesetz).