German economy shrinks 0.2% in 2024, Q4 data points to contraction

Tom Brown

15-Jan-2025

LONDON (ICIS)–The German economy contracted 0.2% in 2024 – the second consecutive year of economic decline for the eurozone’s biggest economy – driven by energy costs, increasing export competition and economic uncertainty, according to the first calculations from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

As the country rounds off two years of economic decline, preliminary data for Q4 2024 points to a 0.1% decline, the agency added, with a full announcement incorporating more data scheduled for 30 January.

Manufacturing output dropped 3% in the year, according to Destatis, with production in energy-intensive industries such as chemicals and metal-working hit particularly hard.

The decline in the construction sector was even sharper, with output shrinking 3.8% over the course of the year.

“Cyclical and structural pressures stood in the way of better economic development in 2024,” said Destatis president Ruth Brand.

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