Germany

Statistics and Market Data on Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany consists of sixteen states or Bundesländer, its capital is Berlin. Germany is the most populous country in the European Union, as well as being its largest economy. The Bundestag is Germany’s lower house; together with the upper house, or Bundesrat, it is located in the Reichstag building in the German capital. The chancellor wields most of the political and executive power in Germany, while the president, the country’s head of state, serves in a purely representative and constitutional capacity. Despite changes in the economic growth rate over the last three years, Germany remains the economic powerhouse of Europe and by far its strongest economy. Germany was ranked highly among the top 20 export countries worldwide in 2010, being ranked third behind China and the USA with exports totalling more than 1.2 million U.S. dollars in value. In 2010, Germany exported chemical industry goods to the value of 141 million euros. Based on inflation statistics from Germany, the inflation rate in Germany was at its lowest point in 2009, at 0.4 percent compared to the previous year. Germany is not only known for its innovative approach to manufacturing, but also for its technology orientated industry developments. Figures from TNS Infratest demonstrate the significant developments in internet usage trends that have taken place between 2001 and 2011. In 2001, 37 percent of Germans were online. A decade later, the figures have doubled to 74.7 percent. Other interesting internet statistics indicate that the country also had the second highest amount of government requests for data removal from Google, wherein 125 requests were sent between January and June 2011. Germany, being a huge economic power, is known for its extensive and varied industrial sectors which range from car manufacture to clothing and food. In these areas, like many others, the country also boasts impressive results. In 2010, Germany was the EU leader in beer production and has also been in the top three pork-producing countries during the last three years. One of the things for which Germany is most famous is its car industry. German cars signify not only innovation but also quality and manufacturing excellence. A forecast of Germany’s vehicle production capacity from 2010 to 2015 indicates that six million units will be on the market by 2015. German statistics on the total assets of Audi, one of Germany’s most famous car brands, have shown only growing figures over the years, have shown nothing but continuous growth over the years, reaching more than 30 billion euros in 2010.