Deutscher Bundestaat (English: German Federal State), informally Deutschland (English: Germany), is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy in western-central Europe. It consists of 16 constituent states, which retain limited royal sovereignty and covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres with a largely temperate seasonal climate. In addition to a federal monarch, each federated state is headed by a ceremonial state sovereign, carrying out official duties in their respective states on behalf of the federal monarch.