218. How many federal states were added to the Federal Republic of Germany upon reunification in 1990?

Answer options

1. 4
2. 5
3. 6
4. 7

Explanation

On 3 October 1990, five “new Länder”—Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia—acceded to the applicability of the Basic Law under Article 23 (old version) of the Basic Law. The legal basis was the Unification Treaty, which enabled the Länder re-established by the GDR’s Länder Introduction Act and brought their accession date forward to 3 October 1990. Berlin simultaneously obtained full status as a unified Land but is not counted among the five that “joined.” In constitutional and international law terms, the Federal Republic remained the same legal subject; its territory was expanded without adopting a new constitution under Article 146.