| variable | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2007 | 2008-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| real gdp growth | 2.31 | 2.01 | 1.34 | -0.75 | 1.16 | -0.9 | -0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| CPI % | 2.63 | 2.28 | 1.89 | 0.7 | 1.34 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.21 | 8.11 | 9.16 | 6.95 | 4.18 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| Debt/GDP % | - | 52.33 | 63.57 | 76.7 | 70.13 | 62.3 | 62.2 | 62.9 | 64.6 | 66.5 |
| Current account balance/GDP % | 2.48 | -0.94 | 3.83 | 5.75 | 7.51 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
Data derived from World Economic Outlook Database. To see main macroeconomic indicator in graphs click here
As Europe's largest economy and second most-populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating world wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key western economic and security organizations, including the EC (now the EU) and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War allowed German reunification to occur in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Area: 357,022 sq km km2
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Natural resources: coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Groups: German 85.4%, Turkish 1.8%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Syrian 1.1%, Romanian 1%, Poland 1%, other/stateless/unspecified 8.3% (2022 est.)
Languages: German (official); note - Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages
Religions: Roman Catholic 24.8%, Protestant 22.6%, Muslim 3.7%, other 5.1%, none 43.8% (2022 est.)
Capital: Berlin
Government type: federal parliamentary republic
Chief of state: President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017)
Head of government: Chancellor Friedrich MERZ (since 6 May 2025)
Description: - bicameral
leading export-driven, core EU and eurozone economy; key automotive, chemical, engineering, finance, and green energy industries; growth stalled by energy crisis and declining exports; tight labor market with falling working-age population; fiscal rebalancing with phaseout of energy price supports
<p>iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles</p>
GDP by sector: Agriculture: 0.8% (2024 est.), Industry: 25.8% (2024 est.), Services: 63.9% (2024 est.)
Export partners: USA 10%, France 8%, Netherlands 7%, China 7%, Italy 6% (2023)
Export commodities: cars, vehicle parts/accessories, packaged medicine, plastic products, vaccines (2023)
Import partners: China 12%, Netherlands 7%, USA 7%, Poland 6%, France 5% (2023)
Import commodities: cars, vehicle parts/accessories, garments, natural gas, vaccines (2023)
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Military expenditure: 2025: 2.4% of GDP (2025 est.)
Information derived from worldfactbook.io (Lupon Media), open successor to the CIA World Factbook. Data sourced from World Bank, IMF, UN and other international organizations.