Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. North Rhine-Westphalia, usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW) is the westernmost, most populous, and most economically powerful state of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia has about 18 million inhabitants, contributes about 22% of Germany''s gross domestic product and comprises a land area of 34,083 km² (13,158 square miles). North Rhine-Westphalia is situated in the western part of Germany and shares borders with Belgium in the southwest and the Netherlands 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.