Economy of Germany
In 2003 net foreign direct investment was inbound US$11 billion.
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Investments
Germany follows a liberal policy toward foreign investment. During the period 1998-99, France was the largest source of direct investment, followed by the United Kingdom and the United States (18%). From 1995 to 1999, annual average flows of U.S. direct investment in Germany were $3.4 billion, while those of German investors in the United States reached $21 billion. In terms of cumulative position (historical cost basis), German investment in the United States was valued at $111 billion in 1999, having more than doubled since 1995, while U.S. investment in Germany was worth just under $50 billion, having grown 12% since 1995.
Despite persistence of structural rigidities in the labour market and extensive government regulation, the economy remains strong and internationally competitive, not least because of its highly skilled work force. Although production costs are high, Germany is still an export powerhouse. Additionally, Germany is strategically placed to take advantage of the rapidly growing central European countries. The current government has addressed some of the country's structural problems, with important tax, social security, and financial-sector reforms. In the future, Germany faces further fundamental (and perhaps even more sweeping) economic adjustments to boost growth and job creation.
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Labour force
The distribution of Germany’s workforce by sector is very similar to the relative output of each sector. In 2004 the workforce was distributed as follows: agriculture, 2.2%; industry, 26.4%; and services, 71.3%. Participants in the workforce totalled 38.87 million. In Summer 2007, Germany’s seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate decreased to 9%, or nearly 3,8 million people. Both statistics represented post-war records. Unemployment approached 20% in some states in the East, where high wages are not matched by productivity. However, by September 2005 overall unemployment had declined to 11.2%, or 4.65 million people. Germany's national unemployment rate is only partially comparable to unemployment rates in the United Kingdom or United States, because it includes a significant share of part-timers, who work less than 15 hours a week. Everyone working less than 15 hours a week, who is seeking and available for a job with full social security insurance (normally full-time job or part-time above 15 hours a week), can be registered as unemployed. Around one quarter of Germany's national unemployment are underemployed part-timers.
Additionally the percentage of so called "long-term sick" in Germany is significantly lower than in the United Kingdom, Sweden or the United States, countries with very low official unemployment rates. Financial support for sickness in these countries normally lasts longer, is easier to reach or is higher than aid for unemployment. Experts believe that many of these "long-term sick" are in reality discouraged workers, who have no perspective in the job market. Most of these people in Germany are registered as unemployed, because unemployment aid is not limited in duration and being "sick" is not more lucrative.[citation needed] As a labour market performance index and for the actually situation on the German labour market, the German job index BA-X has been established in early 2007.
At the start of 2005, the seasonally adjusted number of registered unemployed persons initially showed another sharp increase. The considerable rise in the unemployment figures is largely due to the fact that former recipients of income support who now receive the new class-II unemployment benefit are registered as unemployed. This means that people who used to be numbered among the latent manpower reserve are now shown as registered unemployed persons. In particular, the labour-market statistics now include more unemployed young, older and low-skilled people.
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Other statistics
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Investment (gross fixed): 17.6% of GDP (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
- lowest 10%: 3.6%
- highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.3 (2000)
Agriculture - products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Industrial production growth rate: 2.2% (2004 est.)
Electricity:
- production: 560 TWh (2003)
- consumption: 519.5 TWh (2003)
- exports: 53.8 TWh (2003)
- imports: 45.8 TWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
- fossil fuel: 61.8%
- hydro: 4.2%
- other: 4.1% (2001)
- nuclear: 29.9%
Oil:
- production: 74,100 barrel/day (2003)
- consumption: 2.891 million barrel/day (2003)
- exports: 12,990 barrel/day (2003)
- imports: 2.135 million barrel/day (2003)
- proved reserves: 395.8 million barrel (1 January 2004)
Natural gas:
- production: 21 billion m³ (2003)
- consumption: 99.55 billion m³ (2003)
- exports: 7.731 billion m³ (2003)
- imports: 85.02 billion m³ (2003)
- proved reserves: 293 billion m³ (1 January 2004)
Private financial assets: €4.07 trillion (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $96.84 billion (2003)
Debt - external: NA
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Exchange rates:
- Euro:
- November 2007: 1.48 USD = 1 EUR
- July 2005: 1.20 USD = 1 EUR
- January 2000: 0.99 USD = 1 EUR
- 1999: 0.94 USD = 1 EUR
- Deutsche Mark:
- January 1999 1 USD = 1.69 DEM
- 1998 1 USD = 1.76 DEM
- 1997 1 USD = 1.73 DEM
- 1996 1 USD = 1.50 DEM
- 1995 1 USD = 1.43 DEM
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See also
- German model
- Trade unions in Germany
- Taxation in Germany
- Common Agricultural Policy
- Economy of Europe
- Great power - Germany
- European Union
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References
This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. - Germany
- ^ Total GDP 2005. World Bank. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ PPP GDP 2005. World Bank. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ Bundesagentur für Arbeit Nürnberg (PDF-Datei)
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External links
- ExportNation Global Export Import Statistics
- Is the US a Good Model for Reducing Social Exclusion in Europe? August 2006
- OECD's Germany country Web site and OECD Economic Survey of Germany
- Federal Statistical Office Germany
- MySME Information for foreign SMEs in Germany (In English)
- German Embassy (Washington, D.C.), Economic Trends
- Germany and the Future of the Transatlantic Economy, Policy Bulletin by the Atlantic Council of the U.S.
- Germany’s growth performance in the 1990’s - Published by the European Commission and in particular dealing with the influence of the reunification on German growth rates [NO LONGER AVAILABLE] see Archive copy at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
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