Germany:
Economy

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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 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	$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
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$111.6 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$3.904 trillion (30 June 2006)
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
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)
Fiscal year	calendar year

Germany: Economy

Germany:
Economy