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Economy - overview: Germany's affluent and technologically
powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed
considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of
stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically
high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to
about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most important reasons for Germany's
high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the
declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring,
flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of
competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization
and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term
process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80
billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a
comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions.
The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform
measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to
67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's
aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social
security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government
revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added
tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate
restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could
help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and
globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in
inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the
strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad
take their toll. GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.833 trillion (2007
est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $3.024 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2007 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP):
$34,400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.6%
services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: 11% (2001 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 18.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Labour force: 43.63 million (2007 est.)
Labour force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4%
services: 63.8% (1999)
Unemployment rate: 7.1%
9.1%
note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for
international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a
seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.) Budget:
revenues: $1.465 trillion
expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.) Public Debt:
65.3% of GDP (2007 est.) Agriculture - Products: potatoes, wheat,
barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry Industries:
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
Industrial production growth rate: 2.1% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: 579.4 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption: 545.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: 61.43 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: 56.86 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production: 141,700 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - consumption: 2.618 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - exports: 518,700 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: 2.953 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil- Proved Reserves: 367.2 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production: 19.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 102 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 9.42 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 86.99 billion cu m (2005)
Natural Gas - Proved Reserves: 246.5 billion cu m (1 January 2006
est.)
Current Account Balance: $185.1 billion (2007 est.)
Exports: $1.361 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and
manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners: France 9.7%, US 8.6%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%,
Netherlands 6.2%, Belgium 5.5%, Austria 5.5%, Spain 4.7% (2006)
Imports: $1.121 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, vehicles, chemicals,
foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners: Netherlands 11.7%, France 8.7%, Belgium
7.6%, UK 5.9%, China 5.9%, Italy 5.5%, US 5.1%, Austria 4.3%, Russia 4% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $111.6 billion (2006
est.)
Debt - external: $4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Currency: euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro
as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries;
on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions
within the member countries
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006),
0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Fiscal year: calendar year
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook January 2008.
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