German growth, trade, inflation, employment and business conditions, with monthly releases placed in their proper statistical context.
German corporate insolvencies reached a 13-year high in the first half of 2026, with 12,812 filings. We examine which sectors are under the most pressure.
Germany plans €117.5 billion of investment in 2027 as defence, infrastructure and new borrowing reshape federal fiscal policy.
The 2025 ranking reflects imports and exports together, while the shrinking trade surplus shows pressure beyond one partner.
Germany's gender pay gap was 16% in 2025 and 19% in information and communication. See how pay, working hours and employment participation shape the wider labour gap.
Germany's municipal business tax reached a record in 2025 even as five federal states recorded falling revenue.
The final September data show higher transport and heating-oil costs alongside lower electricity and gas prices.
Exports fell 0.8% in August as shipments to the US dropped and imports rose. A strong annual comparison obscures weakness in the latest monthly flow.
A stronger first half may lift the official 2026 forecast to 1.3%, but weak private investment leaves the recovery exposed to public spending and temporary external demand.
Berlin will cut fuel taxation through December and is considering a temporary price cap for 2027. The package cushions an external shock, but repeated intervention risks delaying the structural work of reducing transport exposure to oil.
The institutes expect 1.3% growth in 2026 and 1.1% in 2027 as defence and infrastructure spending gains traction. Growth then slows to 0.4%, exposing the difference between fiscal lift and structural renewal.
ECB analysis shows China buying fewer of the manufactured goods Europe sells while exporting a more similar product mix into third markets. Germany's machinery-heavy economy faces the sharpest overlap.
Services have rejoined manufacturing in expansion and Germany's composite PMI has reached an 11-month high. The recovery is stronger than expected, but it is arriving with renewed cost pressure.
July's German production data show a 1.1% monthly decline, led by a 9.2% fall in automotive output, while energy production and the three-month trend provide a more mixed picture.
German manufacturing orders rose 2.5% in July 2026, but fell 1.4% excluding large orders. Automotive orders dropped 12.5%, Destatis says.
Ifo now expects German GDP to grow 1.4% in 2026, up 0.6 percentage points from its summer forecast. Growth is forecast at 1.2% in 2027.
The ifo index rose to 89.8 from 89.1, with regional conditions still requiring industry and state context.
Exports rose 2.0% quarter on quarter, including a 2.6% increase in goods, according to Destatis.
Current assessments and expectations both improved, providing a brighter survey reading before hard activity data confirms it.
Companies became less pessimistic; the index remains an assessment of conditions and expectations rather than measured output.
The city had 571,510 principal-residence inhabitants at the end of 2025, while semiconductor expansion raises demand for engineers, technicians and construction skills.
The seasonally adjusted decline extended second-quarter weakness, with industry still cutting jobs.
Population growth supports one of Germany's largest urban labour markets, while the city is less dependent on a single corporate sector than many peers.
A larger labour pool supports the capital's service and technology economy, while housing, transport and administration determine how much of that growth becomes productive capacity.
Official population reached 615,932 at the end of 2025, while manufacturing turnover exceeded €10 billion across the year.
The city keeps attracting skilled workers, but housing cost increasingly acts like an additional payroll tax on employers.
Trade, fiscal policy and consumer demand sit behind the projection and can move before later national accounts arrive.
The economy expanded slightly after two weak years, while exports and industrial investment remained under pressure.
National job totals and occupation-specific scarcity measure different parts of a labour market under demographic pressure.
Exports strengthened early in 2026, but destination, product mix and imports decide the contribution to growth.
A 0.3% quarterly expansion improved the starting point, while exports, investment and revisions determine its durability.