Germany's GDP Growth Rate at 0.6% Last Year... Lowest Since 2013

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate last year stood at 0.6%, marking the lowest level since 2013.

According to Bloomberg News on the 15th (local time), the German Federal Statistical Office announced that last year's GDP growth rate was recorded at 0.6%. This is less than half of the 1.5% increase in 2018 and the lowest figure since 2013. Germany's GDP growth rates were 2.2% in 2016 and 2.5% in 2017, with an average growth of 1.3% over the past decade.

Last year, the German economy showed a downturn phase due to uncertainties caused by the US-China trade war and Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union).

Looking at the components of GDP, exports and imports increased by 0.9% and 1.9% respectively last year, significantly lower than the previous year (exports up 2.1%, imports up 3.6%). Facility investment also fell from a 4.4% growth rate in 2018 to 0.4% last year. On the other hand, personal consumption expenditure, expansion of government spending, and a boom in the construction industry acted as positive factors for growth.

Meanwhile, the German government announced a fiscal surplus of 13.5 billion euros (approximately 17.4 trillion won) last year. The size of Germany's fiscal surplus accounted for 1.5% of GDP, which was lower than the previous year's 1.9% but higher than the market expectation of 1.2%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.