This brief overview of the state of the art in computer education in schools in the Federal Republic of Germany covers both the extent and areas of use and research and development, and frequent comparisons are made with educational computer usage in other countries, including the United States, Japan, France, Great Britain, and Norway. The curriculum for computer education in upper secondary schools, which is called Informatics and corresponds to computer science in the Anglo-Saxon world, is then described, and it is noted that all schools at this level have been equipped with computers. The current status of computer education in grades 5 through 10 is also described, including the educational orientation and curricular guidelines. Three reasons why programming is not considered a central focus for students at this level are discussed: (1) user software and software tools make personal programming for the majority of the population superfluous; (2) students do not have enough time for training and practice; and (3) programming courses cannot be required with the idea that they promote cognitive development. It is noted that there is very little going on in computer education in West German primary schools. A brief review of computer usage, including comparisons with activities in other countries, and an outline of areas of research that are of special interest to West Germany conclude this paper. Two graphs compare computer usage and non-usage in six countries, and the bibliography lists 26 sources in German and 2 in English. (BBM)