Germany Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2006 with 2.2% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth has led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 7% at the end of 2006. 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 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within 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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.632 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.875 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$31,900 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1%
industry: 30%
services: 69.1% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
43.57 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4%
services: 63.8% (1999)

Unemployment rate:
7.1%
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% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
11% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28.3 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.281 trillion
expenditures: $1.331 trillion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
67.8% of GDP (2006 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:
4.4% (2006 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:
167,400 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
2.65 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports:
518,700 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
2.953 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
394.4 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
19.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
96.84 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:
$147.8 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$1.131 trillion f.o.b. (2006 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:
$934 billion f.o.b. (2006 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)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$111.6 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.904 trillion (30 June 2006)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$763.9 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$941.4 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.221 trillion (2005)

Currency (code):
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 - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)