German economy

The main articles are:

• Germany
• World economy

GDP

Main article: Germany's GDP

Financial system

Bundesbank

Sovereign Wealth Fund

Non-financial debt

2022: Aggregate non-financial debt

National debt

2023

Growth of public debt to a record €2.37 trillion or 66% of GDP

The national debt Germany has grown to a record high of €2.37 trillion, the Federal Statistical Office of the Federal Republic of Germany reported in March 2023.

2-year yield jumps to highest level since 2008

In February 2023, the yield on Germany's 2-year bond jumped to its highest level since 2008.

A plan to borrow a record 540 billion euros to overcome the energy crisis

On December 14, 2022, it became known that Germany would borrow a record 540 billion euros to help the country survive the energy crisis.

The previous record just below 500 billion euros was set in 2021, when the country's government was not shy about spending to fight the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

2022

Public debt 2.52 trillion euros. The German Accounts Chamber accused the government of underestimating the real size of the public debt by half

The Accounts Chamber Germany in November 2022 accused the government of hiding the deplorable state of the budget. According to her, the cabinet hides the present state of affairs in the treasury and indicates less than half of the present size of the public debt.

Plan to issue a new €140bn federal debt

According to Bloomberg sources in April 2022, Germany will increase loan plans by almost 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in 2022 to mitigate the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, bringing the total net new debt to almost 140 billion euros.

2021: Issue of Record Debt Volume

Germany has issued a record amount of debt to combat the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, annual borrowing from 2020 is about twice the pace of recent years. The output in 2022 will be about 410 billion euros.

New chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to restore the so-called "debt brake" in 2023. The rules cap net borrowing at 0.35% of GDP, but parliament has the power to suspend them in emergencies.

2020: Suspension of the public debt limit

The Angela Merkel-led government suspended the constitutional debt limit in 2020.

In December 2020, it became known that Germany wants to sell a record amount of federal debt in 2021 to support the economy.

The country plans to sell bonds and bills worth about 471 € billion euros ($576 billion), which will exceed the previous maximum of 407 € billion euros sold in 2020.

2018: State debt $37.5 thousand per capita

2017: State debt - 64% of GDP

Budget

2021: Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Support Program

EU The Next Generation program - 750 billion euros (915 billion) dollars in grants and loans aimed at stimulating economic recovery - will begin in June 2021, with Southern countries receiving the lion's share. Europe

According to Bloomberg Economics, the program will allocate funding equivalent to almost 1% of the eurozone's GDP annually from 2022 to 2024, with spending gradually increasing from the second half of 2021.

2018: Military budget 1.2% of GDP

Military budget in% of GDP, 2018:

• 8.8% Saudi Arabia
• 4.3% Israel
• 3.9% Russia
• 3.2% United States
• 2.5% Turkey
• 2.4% India
• 2.3% France
• 1.9% Australia
• 1.9% China
• 1.8% United Kingdom
• 1.3% Canada
• 1.2% Germany

(SIPRI)

Inflation

Main article: Inflation in Germany

Key rate

Crediting

Mortgage

The volume of new mortgages in Germany more than halved in February 2023 compared to the same period last year. The 54% drop is the worst on record.

Investment in Germany

2022: Continued decline in foreign direct investment for 5 consecutive years

German investment

2021: German government sets up €10bn fund to invest in start-ups in early stages

At the end of June 2021, the German government announced the creation of a 10 billion euro investment fund to support technology startups within the country. The new fund will focus on financing developers at an early stage of growth, but with high capital requirements. Read more here.

2020: Sixth largest investment in Africa

Stock market

• DAX (Index)

Businessmen

Billionaires in Germany

2020: 3rd in the world in the number of billionaires - 107

Mining

Lithium mining

The "triangle" of South America and Mexico as of April 2022 accounts for 60% of the world's lithium deposits.

Energy supplies

Main article: Import of gas, coal, oil and petroleum products in Europe

2023

50 billion euro subsidy program for energy-intensive industry due to conflict with Russia

On June 5, 2023, it became known that Germany was launching a program that would provide tens of billions of euros to companies facing significant energy costs in an attempt to help its struggling industrial sector fund the transition to carbon-neutral manufacturing technologies.

The program, which, according to sources, will amount to about 50 billion euros ($53.45 billion) over the next 15 years, is being implemented in an environment where European industry is under pressure due to high costs of raw materials, energy and labor.

LNG terminal at Rügen cancelled after environmental protests

Agreed by energy corporation RWE, including with the United States as the main gas supplier, the construction of the LNG terminal at Rügen was canceled in May 2023 after a series of environmental protests.

The cancellation of construction became quite unexpected, the LNG terminals in Rügen were supposed to compensate for the volumes of gas that fell after the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Reduction in oil imports from Russia by 99.9% in January

Imports of Russian oil to Germany decreased by 99.9%. According to the German Statistical Office, in January 2023, the country imported only 3.5 thousand tons of Russian oil, while in January 2022 - 2.8 million tons.

2022

Year-end reduction in gas consumption

The cost of not yet built floating LNG receiving terminals in Germany has tripled to 10 billion euros

In 2022, the cost of yet to be built floating LNG receiving terminals in Germany more than tripled and by December 2022 amounted to 10 billion euros, the German Ministry of Economy reported in February 2023.

Nationalization of Russian fuel importers Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing

In September 2022, it was announced that the German Government was transferring oil importers Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing under the control of the German regulator, the Ministry of Economy said.

Plan to purchase 13 billion cubic meters of LNG failed due to lack of gas carriers

The German government planned to deliver 13 billion cubic meters of gas by sea via LNG to Germany in the first half of 2023, which would partially replace the energy resources purchased from Russia.

The government's LNG strategy, prepared by Vice Chancellor Khabek, "failed and will not be able to provide the gas that is needed in the coming winter," Bild stated in July 2022.

The problem lies in the lack of opportunities for Germany to find the vessels necessary for the transportation of LNG. "There are no gas tankers in Germany's merchant fleet that can carry LNG over long distances. In total, almost 500 LNG tankers are available around the world, but demand from other countries is high, "experts stressed.

Germany announced a plan to abandon Russian gas and coal

On February 24, 2022, the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection announced its desire to abandon the country's use of Russian energy resources (coal and gas). The reason is the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

For 2021 Russia , it sends most of its coal to Asia, as it Europe avoids this fuel.

We will have to buy gas, as well as coal in other countries in a more significant amount, because we cannot depend so much on a country that does not comply with more international law, "said the head of the Ministry of Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habek.

According to him, the Nord Stream-2 main gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea will hardly be possible to launch in the medium and short term, but political efforts should be aimed at de-escalating the situation.

Khabek added that in the short term, in light of the situation around Ukraine, gas and oil prices in the markets may rise. On February 24, 2022, the price of gas in Europe soared to $1,400 per 1,000 cubic meters. m under the March contract after closing at $1,041 per 1,000 cubic meters. m the day before.

We have a need of about 90 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The capacity of German gas storage facilities is 23 billion cubic meters of gas in case of full filling. There is potential for LNG to guarantee supplies in winter, "said Robert Habeck.

German steel, chemical and paper industries will halt within weeks if the country decides to halt energy imports from Russia, the country's largest industrial unions said on March 29, 2029.

"The consequences will not only be the reduction of working hours and job losses, but also the rapid collapse of industrial production chains in Europe - with consequences around the world."

IG Metall, IGBCE, IG Bau opposed energy sanctions.

On February 23, 2022, US President Joe Biden imposed restrictions against the operator of Nord Stream 2 and its officials. According to him, this step is another part of the initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine

The German authorities will suspend the certification of Nord Stream 2, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on February 22, 2022. According to him, the situation should be re-assessed after Russia recognizes the LPR and DPR - this will also affect Nord Stream-2^[1]

2019-2020

Lignite and Coal Waiver Act to 2038

In July 2020, Germany adopted a law on the rejection of the use of brown and coal until 2038.

According to the law, the use of coal for energy production may completely cease as early as 2035. A total of 40 billion euros will be allocated to support the regions whose economies will suffer due to the abandonment of coal.

In addition, owners of power plants that run on brown coal and stop working until 2030 will receive compensation totaling 4.35 billion euros. Owners of coal-fired stations will also receive compensation, but their amount will depend on the tender.

In 2017, coal accounted for more than 40% of all fuels used for electricity production in Germany. This is considered the main reason for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Import of 2/3 of gas from Russia

Power

2023: Closing of the last three nuclear power plants

On April 10, 2023, it became known that the German authorities would permanently close the last three nuclear power plants (nuclear power plants) located in the country. However, according to a survey, most Germans are in favor of these facilities continuing to function.

According to Der Spiegel magazine, the decision to stop the NPP is final. On April 15, 2023, the Izar-2, Neccarvesheim-2 and Emsland stations will be stopped. Initially, it was planned to turn them off by January 1, 2023, but in connection with the energy crisis and the current macroeconomic situation, it was decided to extend the service life. At the same time, repeated prolongation is not planned.

A survey conducted by the YouGov Public Opinion Research Institute commissioned by the German Press Agency suggests that 32% of Germans are in favor of using nuclear power plants for a limited time. A third of respondents (33%) believe that these facilities should be operated indefinitely. And only about a quarter of the respondents (approximately 26%) believe that the work of the nuclear power plant should be stopped.

The decision of the authorities means that the era of nuclear power in Germany, which lasted more than 60 years, has come to an end. Various studies suggest that renewable energy sources such as solar farms and wind generators are many times cheaper compared to nuclear plants. However, in the case of "green" sources, a constant amount of energy generation cannot be guaranteed due to natural factors. It is also noted that it may take up to 10-15 years to dismantle equipment at closed stations. After that, the remaining structures are likely to be demolished.^[2]

2022

The share of green power growing rapidly

Share of solar and wind power - 28.8%

Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia

from

2021

Rise in prices for electric energy by 200%

Europe never paid as much for electricity as in 2021. The average cost of electricity in, Germany, and by France Spain Britain the end of 2021 reached a record level, rising by more than 200%.

Closure of 3 of 6 operating NPPs

On December 31, 2021, Germany closed half of the six still operating nuclear plants, a year before the country put an end to the use of atomic energy for decades.

At the end of December 2021, the German government said that the decommissioning of all nuclear power plants in 2022 and the phasing out of coal by 2030 would not affect the country's energy security and its goal of making Europe's largest economy "climate neutral" by 2045.

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

Industrial production

2022

Sharp decline in energy-intensive industries

In 2022, high electricity prices remain in Germany, caused by anti-Russian sanctions.

Most of all, the crisis affected 5 out of 20 manufacturing sectors, which take about 80% of its total energy consumption.

These include chemical production, metallurgy, coke processing, glass and ceramics production, and paper and cardboard production. 930 thousand people work in these sectors, and the turnover is 470 billion euros.

At the same time, the first three sectors give the main income to the German budget - 6.7% of enterprises bring 20.1% of income from the entire industry.

With a reduction in industrial production, especially valuable jobs are at risk. In particular, already now more than half of the employees of the largest chemical concern BASF live outside of Germany.

Germany is one of the ten largest steel producers in the world. Two-thirds of jobs in this sector of Germany depend on the steel industry.

In November 2022, the production of unrefined steel in Germany decreased by 18% on an annualized basis, amounting to about 2.8 million tons. This is the lowest figure since July 2020.

The production of untreated aluminum fell especially sharply - by 25% - compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The level of electricity prices forces the operators of aluminum plants to gradually stop the furnaces. And the future of the industry is in doubt, according to Rob van Gils, president of Aluminum Deutschland.

Some companies have even figured out a loophole on how to capitalize at least some of the situation. Steel and aluminum producers speculate on the electricity exchange - they resell the volumes booked from suppliers more expensive and do not spend them themselves, because this is still not enough for the full operation of factories.

Industrial production decline by 1.8% in 8 months due to sanctions against Russia

For 8 months, 2022 industrial production Germany decreased by 1.8% amid sanctions imposed against. In the Russia chemical and pharmaceutical sector of Germany (high dependence on gas) - a decline of 10.7%.

2020: Industrial production decline by 8.5% amid COVID-19 pandemic

Industrial production in Germany decreased by 8.5% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019

Germany In recorded a sharp decline in industrial production by 6.8% in December 2019. This is the biggest decline since 2009.

Mechanical engineering

2021: 3.10 million vehicles produced

2019: 4.66 million vehicles produced

Foreign trade

Main article: German Foreign Trade

Labour market and unemployment

Main article: Labour market and unemployment in Germany

Household income, salaries and pensions

2023

Childless employees in Germany begin to take pay cuts

At the end of May 2023, the Bundestag adopted a social security reform, according to which childless employees will be reduced salaries.

From July 2023, they will pay an increased Social Security tax. The point is that people with children will have someone to look after in old age, and the state will have to look after the lonely - so you will have to pay. On average, childless employees will begin to receive 60 euros less.

Due to the increase in costs, the traffic light coalition reform provides for an increase in the contribution to the long-term care insurance system by 0.35 percentage points from July 1, 2023 - for people without children, the amount is even higher. Currently, the contribution is 3.05% of the gross salary, and for persons without children - 3.4%. In order to stabilize long-term care insurance, higher premiums should be introduced as early as July 1 - with the exception of families with several young children.

As Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach explained, the reform is to financially provide medical care until 2025 and annually mobilize another 6.6 billion euros for this purpose.

FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann spoke on Deutschlandfunk radio about the "big contribution" to improving the quality of care. However, this cannot be stopped. The wish list is "infinitely large," but financial resources are limited.

According to statistics from the EU authorities for 2022, for each woman there are 1.3 − 1.4 children in Germany. According to the Berlin Institute, 40% of childless married couples aged 18 to 49 prefer to think about careers and do not want to give birth to children.44% said they do not have a "real partner to start a family," a third of those surveyed prefer to remain^[3]

Minimum wage - $1594

The minimum retirement age is 65 years and 10 months

2022

Decrease in real income per employee in the third quarter by 4.3%

in

The fall in real incomes of the population amid the rise in inflation

Although nominal wage growth in Germany by 4% compared to 2020 was the fastest since before the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation was even faster - in the first quarter of 2022 it reached 5.8%.

2021: Germany stopped paying benefits to those who lost their jobs who were not vaccinated against coronavirus

On September 22 health care Germany , 2021, the ministry announced that the government will no longer pay benefits to those who have lost their jobs who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus. COVID-19 The move could help boost the country's vaccination campaign. More. here

2020: Median retirement age - 63

2018: Salaries of top officials in government management

2017: Average monthly salary

German electronic payment systems

2020:49% of Internet users prefer cashless payment

Retail

2023: Sharp decline in retail sales

IIF Chief Economist: Retail volume Germany in March 2023 showed another strong decline after a steady decline over the past year. This figure is much weaker than the similar figure for. USA The largest economy is clearly Europe not doing well, even though markets are focused on a US recession rather than the eurozone.

Consumption

Real estate

2023: Sharp reduction in permits for new homes due to high rates

Germany's housing crisis is deepening. Housing approvals fell by an astonishing 20.6 per cent in February 2023.

It was the 10th straight decline due to rising interest rates and construction costs.

2022: German residential property prices fall for first time since 2009

The cost of housing in December 2022 decreased by 0.8% compared to December 2021, this is data from Eurospace, which collects data on credit products.

The European Central Bank in July 2022 moved away from years of low and even negative interest rate policies. This doubled the cost of mortgages: in four months after the ECB's decision to raise the rate, the number of loans for the purchase of housing decreased by 30%.

Later data showed a sharp decline in prices in the 4th quarter of 2022.

Cars

2019:589 cars per 1000 people

Cars per 1,000 people (World Bank, June 2019):

• UNITED STATES: 837
• Australia: 747
• Italy: 695
• Canada: 670
• Japan: 591
• Germany: 589
• Britain: 579
• France: 569
• Malaysia: 433
• Russia: 373
• Brazil: 350
• Mexico: 297
• Saudi Arabia: 209
• Turkey: 199
• Iran: 178
• SOUTH AFRICA: 174
• China: 173
• Indonesia: 87
• Nigeria: 64
• India: 22

2018:562 cars per 1000 people

Tea

2018: Per capita tea consumption per kg per year

Milk

2018: Milk consumption in litres per year per person

Meat

2019: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

Beer

2019: Beer consumption in litres per year per person

Business

2020

15,840 companies declared bankruptcy

In 2020, 15,840 companies went bankrupt in Germany. This is the lowest figure since 1993, and if we talk about a decrease in percentage terms - the sharpest reduction since 1975 (-15.5% in 2020 compared to 2019). The beginning of 2021, as well as the end of 2020, was marked by a record low number of bankruptcies, according to Coface data.

Such positive dynamics, however, is not observed in all sectors. Each company applying for state support in Germany in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic must prove to the authorities that its business model was profitable in the pre-crisis period, that is, for December 2019. Since, for example, the metallurgical industry and the German auto industry have been in recession since the end of 2018, not all enterprises operating in these sectors have managed to fulfill the criteria established by Berlin.

This led to an increase in the number of bankruptcies - in metallurgy, the indicator for 2020 increased by 7.1%, in the automotive industry - immediately by 31.6%. However, this did not greatly affect the composition of the structure of corporate bankruptcies: the metallurgical sector accounted for only 3% of the total number of bankruptcies in 2020, and the auto industry - just under 0.5%. The vast majority of bankruptcies are still in the b2b services sector, construction industry, hospitality industry, retail and transportation sector.

The German government has taken a number of measures aimed at supporting business during the crisis period. The most popular was the concessional lending program, which spent 49 billion euros (1.5% of national GDP). At first, the program was available only to medium-sized enterprises, but later, in November 2020, small ones were included in it.

At the same time, the program of economic stabilization of large companies, the main "pillars" of the German market, turned out to be almost not in demand: of the allocated limit of 600 billion euros, business requested only 8.4 billion euros, and mainly only tour operators and transport companies applied for funds, for example, carrier Lufthansa (5.4 billion euros) and tour operator TUI (1.25 billion euros).

Reduction of the number of German companies in Russia from 6.2 thousand to 4.2 thousand in 6 years

Over 6 years, by August 2020, the number of companies from Germany operating in Russia decreased by almost 2 thousand. Of the 6.2 thousand legal entities with German capital for 2014, 4.2 thousand remained by the end of 2019. German business investments in Russia have decreased to a minimum in 20 years.

2019

In which regions the largest companies in Germany were founded

Germany decided to buy up shares of German companies in order to prevent technology leakage

On February 5, 2019, it became known about Germany's plans to buy shares in German companies in order to prevent technology leakage due to the conclusion of mergers and acquisitions involving foreign business. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier believes that such a change in industrial strategy is necessary for the country's further prosperity.

It may come to    the point that the state will temporarily take shares in companies - not for nationalization and management in the long term, but to prevent the sale and export of key technologies abroad, Altmeier said at a press conference after the presentation of the "Strategy for the Development of National Industry until 2030."

The minister named the key industries for Germany: steel and aluminum, chemical industry, mechanical engineering and equipment production, optics, medical equipment, environmentally friendly technologies, defense, aerospace sector and 3D printing.

A special investment fund is planned to support key companies, including automakers, as well as ThyssenKrupp, Siemens and Deutsche Bank, Peter Altmaier said.

The German government also seeks to strengthen the country's competitiveness by tightening controls on foreign investment, especially Chinese. Authorities fear that overseas investors, by buying German businesses, are getting their innovation and destroying the manufacturing base on which most of Germany's wealth is built.

Peter Altmeier suggests that the German government needs to support the development of innovations and technologies in the country and at the same time do everything to reduce the costs of innovative business, including the cost of fulfilling state requirements in the field of ecology and social obligations.^[4]

Transport

Electric Vehicle Market

Main article: Electric vehicles (German market)

R&D

2020: R&D spending - $109.8 billion

2019: Fourth most patented in the world

At the end of April 2020, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranked countries by the number of new patents. In 2019, Germany accounted for 19,353 patents. Read more here.

Agriculture

2021: Share of farmland - 48%

Tourism

2020:46 UNESCO-protected World Heritage Sites

2018: Germany is among the top countries in terms of tourism revenue

Alcohol market

Minimum age to purchase alcoholic beverages

Notes