Germany's economy

After our trip through Italy we continue our tour with the next country: GERMANY!

This week I will discuss the economy of Germany...

I start with some facts and figures:

• They are member of the European Union
• Their currency is the euro.
• The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) amounts to $3.194 trillion
• GDP - composition by sector
• Agriculture: 0.8%
• Industry: 28.1%
• Services: 71.1% 
• The labour force consists of 44.01 million people, while there are 81.8 million inhabitants.
• Population below poverty line: 15.5% 
• Unemployment rate: 6.5% 
• Public debt: 80.5% of GDP  
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% 
• Agriculture – products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages, cattle, pigs, poultry
• Exports : $1.492 trillion 
• Exports – commodities: motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products
• Imports: $1.276 trillion (2012 est.) 
• Imports – commodities : machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural productsThe economy in

Germany is very important for the inhabitants because It is the largest national economy in Europe. The country has been an innovator since the industrialization and the industrial capitalism. Furthermore, Germany is the world's second largest exporter with $1.408 trillion exported in 2011. Their exports account for more than one-third of national output.

While the economy is very good, the country is poor in raw materials. The only raw materials they have are lignite and potash salt. So they import a lot of raw materials from other countries just like they import oil and natural gas. In total, Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.

Besides the primary sector, we have the service sector. In Germany the service sector amount to around 70% of the total GDP, industry 29.1%, and agriculture 0.9%. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines and solar power technology in the world. Further, it is also the leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force.

Sources:

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany

http://www.indexmundi.com/germany/economy_profile.html