NORDRHEIN - WESTFALEN - Geography and history
North Rhine-Westphalia is easily the most populated German federal Land, and in terms of size it is comparable with many independent states. Every fifth citizen in the Federal Republic and every 20th citizen in the EU lives here. The population density is more than 530 inhabitants per km2, which is double the national density and four times the EU average. Of the 82 German cities with at least 100 000 inhabitants, 30 are in North Rhine-Westphalia. The capital is Düsseldorf, but the largest city is Cologne with around 970 000 inhabitants.
Wooded and agricultural areas are 25% and 51% respectively. Despite the high population density, economic progress and traditional industrial ways of life exist side by side with attractive and high-quality environments.
One-third of the surface of North Rhine-Westphalia is hilly (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, Weserbergland). It is flanked by the north German lowlands. The river Rhine stamps its mark on a large part of the Land, since it flows through it over a distance of 226 km.
The varying fortunes of town and country
Historians report that the two parties to the 1946 marriage between Westphalia and the northern part of the Rhineland looked somewhat askance at each other to begin with. This has long been forgotten. The feeling of belonging together grew stronger as joint achievements were made. There is no longer any feeling of being 'separated by the hyphen'.
A whole century previously, industrial development in the Ruhr area took no notice of the division between Rhineland and Westphalia. A good quarter of the population of the Land lives in this congested area, the main axis of which runs between Duisburg and Dortmund. It covers 3 866 km2, or approximately a ninth of the entire surface area of the Land.
There are further concentrations along the 'Rhine track' from Bonn to Duisburg, along the diagonal line from Cologne to Dortmund and along the line from Aachen to Duisburg. There are also four 'island concentrations'. Taken together, these areas amount to 4 530 km2 and hold 6.3 million people, considerably more than in the Ruhr.
Only a third of the population (6.4 million) live 'in the country', although the rural areas account for three-quarters of the surface area. They surround the congested areas and are quickly accessible.
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