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State in Germany

North Rhine Westphalia or North Rhine/Westphalia (Nordrhein Westfalen, ; ; or Noordrhien Westfalen), commonly shortened to NRW , is a state (Land) in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city states, it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of , it is the fourth largest German state by size. North Rhine Westphalia features 30 of the 81 German municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, including Cologne (over 1 million), the state capital Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen (all about 550,000 inhabitants) and other cities predominantly located in the Rhine Ruhr metropolitan area, the largest urban area in Germany and the fourth largest on the European continent. The location of the Rhine Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region. North Rhine Westphalia was established in 1946 after World War II from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the northern part of Rhine Province (North Rhine), and the Free State of Lippe by the British military administration in Allied occupied Germany and became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The city of Bonn served as the federal capital until the reunification of Germany in 1990 and as the seat of government until 1999. Culturally, North Rhine Westphalia is not a uniform area; there are significant differences, especially in traditional customs, between the Rhineland region on the one hand and the regions of Westphalia and Lippe on the other. As of 2023, its economy is the largest among German states by GDP but is below the national average in GDP per capita.

The state of North Rhine Westphalia was established by the British military administration's "Operation Marriage" on 23 August 1946 by merging the province of Westphalia and the northern parts of the Rhine Province, both being political divisions of the former state of Prussia within the German Reich. On 21 January 1947, the former state of Lippe was merged with North Rhine Westphalia. By the time of Otto I (d. 973), both banks of the Rhine had become part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine on the Moselle and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. The Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into numerous small, independent, separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, although the name survives for example in Lorraine in France, and throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times, the nobility of these areas often sought to preserve the idea of a preeminent duke within Lotharingia, something claimed by the Dukes of Limburg, and the Dukes of Brabant. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military and political links between what is now Rhineland Westphalia and neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands. In spite of its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbours in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. The plain variant of the tricolor is considered the civil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use the state flag (Landesdienstflagge) which is defaced with the state's coat of arms.

North Rhine Westphalia encompasses the plains of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands (die Mittelgebirge) up to the gorge of Porta Westfalica. The state covers an area of and shares borders with Belgium (Wallonia) in the southwest and the Netherlands (Limburg, Gelderland and Overijssel) in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast. Approximately half of the state is located in the relative low lying terrain of the Westphalian Lowland and the Rhineland, both extending broadly into the North German Plain. A few isolated hill ranges are located within these lowlands, among them the Hohe Mark, the Beckum Hills, the Baumberge and the Stemmer Berge. The terrain rises towards the south and in the east of the state into parts of Germany's Central Uplands. These hill ranges are the Weser Uplands – including the Egge Hills, the Wiehen Hills, the Wesergebirge and the Teutoburg Forest in the east, the Sauerland, the Bergisches Land, the Siegerland and the Siebengebirge in the south, as well as the left Rhenish Eifel in the southwest of the state. The Rothaargebirge in the border region with Hesse rises to height of about 800 m above sea level. The highest of these mountains are the Langenberg, at 843.2 m above sea level, the Kahler Asten (840.7 m) and the Clemensberg (839.2 m). The planimetrically determined centre of North Rhine Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser. The southernmost point lies near Hellenthal in the Eifel region. The northernmost point is the NRW Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt has located the only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier a deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest human made dip in Germany. The most important rivers flowing at least partially through North Rhine Westphalia include: the Rhine, the Ruhr, the Ems, the Lippe, and the Weser. The Rhine is by far the most important river in North Rhine Westphalia: it enters the state as Middle Rhine near Bad Honnef, where still being part of the Mittelrhein wine region. It changes into the Lower Rhine near Bad Godesberg and leaves North Rhine Westphalia near Emmerich at a width of 730 metres. Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The Pader, which flows entirely within the city of Paderborn, is considered Germany's shortest river. For many, North Rhine Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and urban agglomerations. However, the largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%) and forests (25%).

The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965 the population at year end is used.

Kölsch is a local beer speciality brewed in Cologne. Alt is a local beer speciality brewed in Düsseldorf and the Lower Rhine Region. Dortmunder Export is a local pale lager beer speciality brewed in Dortmund.

North Rhine Westphalia hosts film festivals in Cologne, Bonn, Dortmund, Duisburg, Münster, Oberhausen and Lünen. Other large festivals include Rhenish carnivals, Ruhrtriennale. Every year Gamescom is hosted in Cologne. It is the largest video game convention in Europe.

The composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770. A regional anthem is the Lied für NRW (Song for NRW). North Rhine Westphalia is home to many of Germany's best known heavy metal, speed metal and thrash metal bands: Accept, Angel Dust, Blind Guardian, Doro (formerly of Warlock), Grave Digger, Holy Moses, Kreator, Rage, Scanner and Sodom. Also, North Rhine Westphalia is home to Kraftwerk, originally a Krautrock band for four years, then later a synth pop band.

North Rhine Westphalia has always been Germany's powerhouse with the largest economy among the German states by GDP figures. In the 1950s and 1960s, Westphalia was known as Land von Kohle und Stahl (Land of Coal and Steel). In the post World War II recovery, the Ruhr was one of the most important industrial regions in Europe, and contributed to the German Wirtschaftswunder. As of the late 1960s, repeated crises led to contractions of these industrial branches. On the other hand, producing sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, experienced substantial growth. Despite this structural change and an economic growth which was under national average, the 2018 GDP of 705 billion euro (1/4 of the total German GDP) made NRW the economically strongest state of Germany by GRP figures, as well as one of the most important economical areas in the world. Of Germany's top 100 corporations, 37 are based in North Rhine Westphalia. On a per capita base, however, North Rhine Westphalia remains one of the weaker among the Western German states. North Rhine Westphalia attracts companies from both Germany and abroad. In 2009, the state had the most foreign direct investments (FDI) anywhere in Germany. Around 13,100 foreign companies from the most important investment countries control their German or European operations from bases in North Rhine Westphalia. There have been many changes in the state's economy in recent times. Among the many changes in the economy, employment in the creative industries is up while the mining sector is employing fewer people. The Ruhr region has – since the 1960s – undergone a significant structural change away from coal mining and steel industry. Many rural parts of Eastern Westphalia, Bergisches Land and the Lower Rhine ground their economy on "Hidden Champions" in various sectors. As of June 2014, the unemployment rate is 8.2%, second highest among all western German states. In October 2018 the unemployment rate stood at 6.4% and was higher than the national average. Year2000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018Unemployment rate in %9.28.89.210.010.212.011.49.58.58.98.78.18.18.38.28.07.77.46.8

With its central location in the most important European economic area, high population density, strong urbanization and numerous business locations, North Rhine Westphalia has one of the densest transport networks in the world.

North Rhine Westphalia has the densest network of Autobahns in Germany and similar Schnellstraßen (expressways). The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with five east–west (A2, A4, A40, A42, A44) and eight north–south (A1, A3, A43, A45, A52, A57, A59, A61) routes. The A1, A2, A3, A4 and A61 are mostly used by through traffic, while the other autobahns have a more regional function. Both the A44 and the A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing sections are currently in construction or planned to be constructed in the near future. Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, Bundesstraßen are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Region opened during the mid 1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternative routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less so than in the Randstad in the Netherlands, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns have six lanes.

The region benefits from the presence of several airport infrastructure. The main airport is Düsseldorf Airport, world class, which hosts 19 million passengers per year and offers flights to many destinations. Düsseldorf is the fourth largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. It is a hub for Eurowings and a focus city for several more airlines. The airport has three passenger terminals and two runways and can handle wide body aircraft up to the Airbus A380. The second airport is the international airport of Germany's fourth largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, former capital of West Germany. With around 10 million passengers passing through it in 2023, it is the sixth largest passenger airport in Germany and the third largest in terms of cargo operations. It is also a hub for Eurowings, but also for some cargo airlines. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany. As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries. It is named after Konrad Adenauer, a Cologne native and the first post war Chancellor of West Germany. Third airport in the region, Dortmund Airport is a minor international airport located east of Dortmund. It serves the eastern Rhine Ruhr area, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany, and is mainly used for low cost and leisure charter flights. In 2019 the airport served 2,719,563 passengers. There are three more minor airports within the state: Münster Osnabrück Airport, Airport Weeze and Paderborn Lippstadt Airport.

The Rhine flows through North Rhine Westphalia. Its banks are usually heavily populated and industrialized, in particular the agglomerations Cologne, Düsseldorf and Ruhr area. Here the Rhine flows through the largest conurbation in Germany, the Rhine Ruhr region. Duisburg Inner Harbour (Duisport) and Dortmund Port are large industrial inland ports and serve as hubs along the Rhine and the German inland water transport system. The country is crossed by many canals like Rhine–Herne Canal (RHK), der Wesel Datteln Kanal (WDK), der Datteln Hamm Kanal (DHK) and Dortmund Ems Kanal (DEK) an important role for inland navigation.

RWTH Aachen is one of Germany's leading universities of technology and was chosen by DFG as one of the German Universities of Excellence in 2007, 2012 and again in 2019. North Rhine Westphalia is home to 14 universities and over 50 partly postgraduate colleges, with a total of over 742,000 students. Largest and oldest university is the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln), founded in 1388 AD, since 2012 also one of Germany's eleven Universities of Excellence. University of Duisburg Essen (Universität Duisburg Essen), is also well known and is one of the largest universities in Germany.

NRW is home to several football clubs of the Bundesliga including Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Köln and VfL Bochum and the 2. Bundesliga including Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC Schalke 04 and SC Paderborn 07 and the 3. Liga including Arminia Bielefeld, MSV Duisburg, Rot Weiß Essen, Preußen Münster, Rot Weiß Oberhausen, FC Viktoria Köln and SC Verl. Since the formal establishment of the German Bundesliga in 1963, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach have been the most successful teams in the state, with both winning five titles. FC Köln won two titles, including the first in 1963. Before the league's establishment, North Rhine Westfalian teams competed for the title of Deutscher Fußballmeister (German Football Champion). Here, FC Schalke 04 brought home seven titles, while Dortmund and Köln won an additional three and one title(s), respectively. Fortuna Düsseldorf and Rot Weiß Essen have each been German Champion once. North Rhine Westphalia has been a very successful footballing state having a combined total of 25 championships, fewer only than Bavaria.

The state is also home to several professional basketball teams that currently either compete in the Basketball Bundesliga or ProA or have competed there in the past. These teams include Telekom Baskets Bonn, Bayer Giants Leverkusen, Paderborn Baskets, Uni Baskets Münster, VfL SparkassenStars Bochum, Phoenix Hagen and Alemannia Aachen.

North Rhine Westphalia is home to current and former DEL teams Düsseldorfer EG, Kölner Haie, Krefeld Pinguine, and Iserlohn Roosters.