One of the sixteen
Länder (federal states) of Germany; German name Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Population: 1,800,000
Area: 23,200 sq. km.
Capital: Schwerin, pop. 115,000
Political division: Six cities and 31 Kreise (districts)
Comprised of the historical regions of Mecklenburg and Lower Pomerania, the Land is a part of the former East Germany, located in the north-east of the country with extensive Baltic coastline and a border with Poland. Pomerania itself was once under East German control but is now mainly in Poland. It is an agricultural area, dotted with lakes and forests, the least dense and least industrialised of the Länder.
Set against its image as a relaxed maritime region is its high unemployment and poor record on right-wing violence, both traits characteristic of the former East German Länder. It also has among the highest rates of waste production per person in Germany.