1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Germany logs biggest growth in 6 years

January 11, 2018

The German economy expanded by over 2 percent in 2017, beating results for the previous year despite fewer working days. The statistics office said growth was boosted by high employment and larger investments.

Container port
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Europe's largest economy expanded by 2.2 percent in 2017, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) reported Thursday.

The figure was up from the 1.9-percent growth rate recorded for the previous year, despite a lower number of working days in 2017.

Destatis noted the positive full-year result came on the back of strong domestic consumption, rising exports, a boom in the building sector and higher investments by companies.

Budget surplus again

The government in Berlin and leading German research institutes said they expected growth to be about the same this year, backed by record employment and rising wages that would further fuel consumption.

Economists noted that certain risks remained nonetheless, such as the uncertain outcome of the Brexit negotiations between Brussels and the UK, tensions on the Korean peninsula and possible new trade barriers which would hurt Germany as an export nation.

In a separate note, Destatis on Thursday said Germany again booked a budget surplus in 2017 — 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 0.8 percent in 2016.

Low-key German firms boast high performance

04:12

This browser does not support the video element.

hg/aos (Reuters, dpa)

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW