Economy of Germany

Economy of Germany
Frankfurt, the financial centre of Germany, seat of the European Central Bank and one of the main financial centres worldwide
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
Calendar year
Trade organisations
EU, WTO, G-20, G7 and OECD
Country group
Statistics
PopulationDecrease 83,445,000 (2024 est.)[6]
GDP
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • −0.3% (2023)[7]
  • 0.0% (2024)[7]
  • +0.8% (2025)[7]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $55,521 (nominal; 2024)[7]
  • Increase $70,930 (PPP; 2024)[7]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
GDP by component
  • Household consumption: 53.1%
  • Government consumption: 19.5%
  • Investment in fixed capital: 20.4%
  • Investment in inventories: −0.5%
  • Exports of goods and services: 47.3%
  • Imports of goods and services: −38.7%
  • (2017)[3]
  • 6.0% (2023)
  • 2.4% (2024)
  • 2.0% (2025)[7]
Population below poverty line
21.3% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE 2023)[8]
Negative increase 29.4 low (2023)[9]
Steady 78 out of 100 points (2023)[11] (rank 9th)
Labour force
  • 50 million (2023)[12]
  • 81.1% employment rate (2023)[13]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • 5.4% (2022)[12]
  • 5.8% youth unemployment (August 2020)[12]
  • 2.0 million unemployed (August 2020)[12]
Average gross salary
€4,924 monthly (2023)
€3,118 monthly (2023)
Main industries
External
Exports$1.62 trillion (2022)[14][3]
Export goods
motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products
Main export partners
Imports$1.17 trillion (2022)[15][3]
Import goods
machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural products
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • $1.653 trillion (2017)[3]
  • Abroad: $2.298 trillion (2017)[3]
$280 billion (2019)[3]
$5.4 trillion (2022)[16]
Public finances
  • 63.6% of GDP (2023)[17]
  • €2.6 trillion (2023)[17]
  • €102 billion deficit (2023)[17]
  • −2.5% of GDP (2023)[17]
Revenues46.1% of GDP (2023)[17]
Expenses48.6% of GDP (2023)[17]
Economic aid
$400 billion (2022)[23]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Germany is a highly developed social market economy.[24] It has the largest national economy in Europe, the third-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP). Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, Germany's GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply. In 2017, the country accounted for 28% of the Euro area economy according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[25] Germany is a founding member of the European Union and the eurozone.[26][27]

In 2016, Germany recorded the highest trade surplus in the world, worth $310 billion.[28] This economic result made it the biggest capital exporter globally.[29] Germany is one of the largest exporters globally with $1.81 trillion worth of goods and services exported in 2019.[30][31] The service sector contributes around 70% of the total GDP, industry 29.1%, and agriculture 0.9%. Exports accounted for 50.3% of national output.[32][33] The top 10 exports of Germany are vehicles, machinery, chemical goods, electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, basic metals, food products, and rubber and plastics.[34] The economy of Germany is the largest manufacturing economy in Europe, and it is less likely to be affected by a financial downturn.[35] Germany conducts applied research with practical industrial value and sees itself as a bridge between the latest university insights and industry-specific product and process improvements. It generates a great deal of knowledge in its own laboratories.[36] Among OECD members, Germany has a highly efficient and strong social security system, which comprises roughly 25% of GDP.[5][37][4]

Germany is rich in timber, lignite, potash, and salt. Some minor sources of natural gas are being exploited in the state of Lower Saxony. Until German reunification, the German Democratic Republic mined for uranium in the Ore Mountains (see also: SAG/SDAG Wismut). Energy in Germany is sourced predominantly by fossil fuels (30%), with wind power in second place, then gas, solar, biomass (wood and biofuels), and hydro.[38] Germany is the first major industrialised nation to commit to the renewable energy transition called Energiewende. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines in the world.[39] Renewables produced 46% of electricity consumed in Germany (as of 2019).[40] Germany has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".[41][42] Germany has the world's second-largest gold reserve, with over 3,000 tonnes of gold.[43] Germany spends around 3.14% of GDP on advance research and development across various sectors of the economy.[44][45] It is also the world's second-largest high-technology exporter.[46]

More than 99 per cent of all German companies belong to the German "Mittelstand",[47] small and medium-sized enterprises, which are mostly family-owned. These companies represent 48% of the global market leaders in their segments, labelled hidden champions.[48] Of the world's 2000 largest publicly listed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 2000, 53 are headquartered in Germany, as are 28 of Europe's 100 largest, with the top 10 being the following: Allianz, the world's largest insurance company and one of the largest financial services groups and asset managers, largest in Europe; Munich Re, also one of the largest insurance companies; Daimler, Volkswagen, and BMW, among the biggest car markers in the world;[49] Siemens, the world's biggest industrial machinery company; Deutsche Telekom, one of the world's largest telecommunication companies; Bayer, among the biggest biomedical companies; BASF, the world's biggest chemical producer,[50] and SAP, Europe's biggest software company.[51] Other major companies include Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, Deutsche Post, the largest logistics company worldwide,[52] Deutsche Bahn, the largest railway company in the world,[53][54][55] Bosch, the world's largest automotive supplier, Uniper, the world's largest energy company, and Aldi and Schwarz Gruppe, Europe's largest retailers.[56]

Germany is home to many financial centres and economically important cities, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart; 6 of the 10 biggest EU metropolitan areas by GDP are in Germany. 7 German banks are among the biggest in the world.

Germany is the world's top location for trade fairs;[57] around two thirds of the world's leading trade fairs take place in Germany.[58] Some of the largest international trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig, and Düsseldorf.

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