This is Germany, the largest economy in all of Europe by a significant margin and the fourth largest in the world falling just behind Japan. The economy of Germany is so interesting not just because of its size though but more because it’s a tenuous and surprisingly short history.

Germany is a hugely influential economy in the world today and even more so amongst other European economies, it has been a stabilizing force in the euro-zone and its prosperity has overflowed into regions that have been less stable.