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Germany

Germany Economy Stats

Overview:

The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy - where unemployment can exceed 20% in some municipalities - continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting in 2008 alone to roughly $12 billion. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment, which in 2008 reached a new post-reunification low of 7.8%. These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II - and its decrease to 7.4%in 2010. GDP contracted 4.7% in 2009 but grew by 3.6% in 2010. In its annual projection for 2011, the Federal Government expects the upswing to continue, with GDP forecast to grow this year at a real rate of 2.3%. The recovery was attributable primarily to rebounding manufacturing orders and exports - increasingly outside the Euro Zone. Domestic demand, however, is becoming more significant driver of Germany's economic expansion. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's budget deficit to 3.5% in 2010. The Bundesbank expects the deficit to drop to about 2.5% in 2011, below the EU's 3% limit. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016.

Definitions

  • Budget > Revenues: Revenues calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms
  • Budget surplus > + or deficit > -: This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relative to their GDPs) generally have more difficulty raising funds to finance expenditures, than those with lower deficits.
  • Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP: Public debt as % of GDP (CIA).

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Exports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  • GDP: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used.
  • GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services: This entry is derived from Economy > GDP > Composition, by sector of origin, which shows where production takes place in an economy. The distribution gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP, and will total 100 percent of GDP if the data are complete. Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other private economic activities that do not produce material goods.
  • GDP > Per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Per capita figures expressed per 1 population.
  • GDP > Per capita > PPP: This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
  • GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • GDP per capita: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • Gross National Income: GNI, Atlas method (current US$). GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and prop).
  • Inflation rate > Consumer prices: This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices.
  • Population below poverty line: National estimates of the percentage of the population lying below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.
  • Public debt: This entry records the cumulatiive total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
  • Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Budget > Revenues $1.53 trillion 2013 4th out of 223
Budget surplus > + or deficit > - 0.1% of GDP 2012 35th out of 182
Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP 81.7 CIA 2014 25th out of 153
Exports $1.46 trillion 2012 3rd out of 189
GDP $3.40 trillion 2012 5th out of 177
GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services 68.6% 2012 57th out of 189
GDP > Per capita $34,065.12 per capita 2007 22nd out of 183
GDP > Per capita > PPP $38,700.00 2012 17th out of 188
GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita $36,196.03 2010 19th out of 181
GDP per capita $41,514.17 2012 18th out of 177
Gross National Income $1.94 trillion 2001 3rd out of 158
Inflation rate > Consumer prices 2.1% 2012 157th out of 199
Population below poverty line 15.5% 2010 8th out of 14
Public debt 81% of GDP 2012 27th out of 149
Unemployment rate 5.5% 2012 81st out of 112

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Wikipedia: List of countries by public debt (List) (Public debt , The World Factbook , United States Central Intelligence Agency , accessed on March 21, 2013.); World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.; CIA World Factbook 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011

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Germany Economy Profiles (Subcategories)

Adjusted savings 3 Intellectual property 8
Aid 6 Interest payments 3
Balance of payments 27 International tourism 14
Budget 10 Investment 3
Business 4 Labor force 3
Changes in net 4 Market capitalization of listed companies 4
Commercial service 4 Merchandise 4
Commercial service imports 4 Merchandise imports 4
Commitment to Development Index 4 Micro 4
Companies 35 National accounts 104
Consumption 10 Natural gas 8
Currency 16 Net capital account 4
Current account balance 5 Net current transfers 4
Current transfers 4 Net current transfers from abroad 6
Debt 51 Net errors and omissions 4
Economic aid 3 Net income 4
Economic growth 8 Net income from abroad 6
Economic structure 4 Net incurrence of liabilities 3
Electricity 8 Net trade in goods 4
Entrepreneurship 12 Net trade in goods and services 4
Exports 3 Oil 10
External balance on goods and services 7 Portfolio investment 4
Final 15 Poverty 3
Financial sector 27 Poverty and inequality 8
Foreign direct investment 14 Productivity 7
GDP 42 Public expenditure 4
GDP growth 3 Purchasing power parity 11
GDP per capita 4 Reserves 6
GNI 12 Retail 3
Goods 4 Royalty and license fees 8
Goods imports 4 Savings 44
Government 13 Service 4
Government debt 8 Service imports 4
Government deficits and debt 4 Services 10
Government spending 5 Spending 73
Gross capital formation 5 Steel 4
Gross domestic savings 5 Stock of direct foreign investment 6
Gross fixed capital formation 10 Stocks traded 5
Gross national expenditure 6 Support and aid 4
Gross savings 6 Tax 78
Gross value added at factor cost 9 Taxes 3
High-technology 4 Total 9
Household final 18 Tourism 21
Income 24 Tourism expenditures 5
Income distribution 4 Tourism receipts 5
Income payments 4 Tourist arrivals by region of origin 7
Income receipts 4 Trade 1671
Inequality 13 Trademark applications 4
Inflation 10 Transnational corporations 4
Innovation 36 Welfare 5

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I will try to simplify the economic situation in Spain and the reasons leading to it:

On the one hand, countries have a debt to outsiders due to previous loans, pending return.

How it has come to generate that amount of debt, in some cases, is disproportionate to the ability to pay of the debtor?. The debt is generated for a simple reason: It spends more than it is entered. But that seems a little absurd because it is known that a country produces more than it spends. So to generate debt have to spend much more than what is needed.

This has a direct relationship with the ambition of rulers who, in principle, want to "save face" with its citizens, making necessary infrastructure first and other less necessary as unused airports later. By the way have found that investments in the country they, individually, or party, can be substantial commissions.

Well, we've spent more than you need and begin to generate debt.

We have the indebted countries, now there are debts that have not reached a size manageable by the country in the short term. Obviously the debts of the countries are prorateables among its citizens.

Thus we must extend the debt for quite some time, especially since we have entered a situation where we generate no more than what we spend, so that the debt has to last long.

Extending debt based issue new debt, with debt paid with income above, but in reality, all we do is increase it even more, because as I said we now generate less than what we spend because of the critical situation in we have placed ourselves.

On the other hand our situation increasingly forces us to pay more and more interest on the debt. Why? Because lenders are taking advantage of the situation to see that we are in a hurry.

And also because no one supports us debt.

As we are in the European Union, it is logical that without relying as we are partners and share supposedly many risks and benefits. But this does not happen, why?. It's a little absurd because we pay great interest impoverish evidently Union.

The reason is because there is no European Union. The so-called European Union is a set of individual interests, where premium itself on others, and countries well treated by agents external lenders are very pleased with this deal and do not want to lose. They do not care that other countries are paying a high interest if it makes them low pay. In short they are taking advantage of us, we paid our debt and theirs.

In this situation the attitude of Merkel, Draghi, and other absolute is disloyalty to the southern countries. Otherwise we would have to conclude that they are fools, and do not think they are.

But what is not understandable is the attitude of our rulers: This submission to the dictates of you is trampling undisguised neck can not be understood. At least, if they are not interested move on without these companies, should torpedo the interests of the countries predators to keep them free out abuse. But besides the existence of the European Union, if only theoretically, provides weapons to deal with it differently, especially considering that there is not much to lose.

Posted on 15 Nov 2012

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