Germany

The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe’s largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country’s social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy - where unemployment can exceed 20% in some municipalities - continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting in 2008 alone to roughly $12 billion. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment, which in 2008 reached a new post-reunification low of 7.8%. These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II - and its healthy decrease in 2010. GDP contracted nearly 5% in 2009 but grew by 3.3% in 2010. Germany crept out of recession thanks largely to rebounding manufacturing orders and exports - primarily outside the Euro Zone - and relatively steady consumer demand. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL’s second term increased Germany’s budget deficit to 3.3% in 2009 and to 3.6% in 2010. The EU has given Germany until 2013 to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016.

$2.951 trillion (2010 est.)

$2.857 trillion (2009 est.)

$2.998 trillion (2008 est.)

$3.306 trillion (2010 est.)

3.3% (2010 est.)

-4.7% (2009 est.)

1% (2008 est.)

$35,900 (2010 est.)

$34,700 (2009 est.)

$36,400 (2008 est.)

43.35 million (2010 est.)

7.1% (2010 est.)

7.5% (2009 est.)

11% (2001 est.)

27 (2006)

30 (1994)

18% of GDP (2010 est.)

74.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

73.2% of GDP (2009 est.)

1% (2010 est.)

0.3% (2009 est.)

1.75% (31 December 2009)

3% (31 December 2008)

4.96% (31 December 2009 est.)

5.97% (31 December 2008 est.)

$1.627 trillion (31 December 2010 est)

$1.681 trillion (31 December 2009 est)

$4.288 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$4.202 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$5.2 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$5.019 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

$1.298 trillion (31 December 2009)

$1.108 trillion (31 December 2008)

$2.106 trillion (31 December 2007)

potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry

among the world’s largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles

9% (2010 est.)

593.4 billion kWh (2007 est.)

547.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

61.7 billion kWh (2008 est.)

41.67 billion kWh (2008 est.)

156,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2.437 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

536,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)

2.862 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

276 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

15.29 billion cu m (2009 est.)

96.26 billion cu m (2009 est.)

12.64 billion cu m (2009 est.)

94.57 billion cu m (2009 est.)

175.6 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$162.3 billion (2010 est.)

$168.1 billion (2009 est.)

$1.337 trillion (2010 est.)

$1.145 trillion (2009 est.)

machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles

France 10.2%, US 6.7%, Netherlands 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Italy 6.3%, Austria 6%, China 4.5%, Switzerland 4.4% (2009)

$1.12 trillion (2010 est.)

$956.7 billion (2009 est.)

machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals

Netherlands 8.5%, China 8.2%, France 8.2%, US 5.9%, Italy 5.9%, UK 4.9%, Belgium 4.3%, Austria 4.3%, Switzerland 4.2% (2009)

$NA (31 December 2010 est.)

$180.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.713 trillion (30 June 2010)

$5.158 trillion (31 December 2008)

$1.057 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.054 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.484 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.46 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7715 (2010), 0.7179 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006)