| ECONOMY |
| Overview |
Germany's
affluent and technologically powerful economy has turned in
a weak performance throughout much of the 1990s and early
2000s. The modernization and integration of the eastern German
economy continues to be a costly long-term problem, with annual
transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion.
Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment,
has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions
from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market -
including strict regulations on laying off workers and the
setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment
a chronic problem. Growth in 2002 and 2003 fell short of 1%.
Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting
the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term
challenges of European economic integration and globalization,
particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed.
In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues
and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above
the EU's 3% debt limit. |
| GDP |
purchasing
power parity - $2.16 trillion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate |
0.2% (2002
est.) |
| GDP
- per capita |
purchasing
power parity - $26,200 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector |
agriculture:
1%
industry: 31%
services: 68% (2002 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line |
NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
1.3% (2002
est.) |
| Labor
force |
41.9 million
(2001) |
| Labor
force - by occupation |
industry
33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) |
| Unemployment
rate |
9.8% (2002
est.) |
| 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 |
| Industrial
production growth rate |
-2.1% (2002
est.) |
