International Market Development

International market development | Comprehensive analysis of German economy and market conditions

Author : Bozhou Marine

Update time : 2020-12-23 10:43:07

In this article, we mainly introduce the basic situation of the German market. Including: geographic location, major cities, population conditions, ethnic groups, major festivals, natural resources, major industries, infrastructure construction, GDP, foreign exchange reserves, employment, prices, corporate income tax, personal tax rates, etc.

  Introduction

Germany (German: Deutschland; English: Germany) is a federal parliamentary republic located in Central Europe. It borders Denmark to the north, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France to the west, Switzerland and Austria to the south, and the Czech Republic and Poland to the east. It is composed of 16 federal states with a territorial area of 357,167 square kilometers.

Germany is a highly developed capitalist country and one of the four largest European economies. Its social security system is complete and its citizens have a very high standard of living. The high-end manufacturing industry represented by automobiles and precision machine tools is also an important symbol of Germany.

  Capital

Berlin, located in the northeast of Germany, is the capital and largest city of Germany, as well as the political, cultural, transportation and economic center of Germany.

  Main City

1.Berlin

Berlin, located in the northeast of Germany, is the capital and largest city of Germany. It is also the political, cultural, transportation and economic center of Germany, with a population of about 3.5 million (2016). In 2018, Berlin's regional product value reached 280 billion US dollars.

2. Hamburg

Hamburg is one of the three German state-level cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen), the second largest city in Germany, the most important seaport and the largest foreign trade center in Germany, the second financial center in Germany, and the economic and cultural center of northern Germany. Metropolis has the reputation of "World Bridge City". Hamburg is an important transportation hub in northern Germany. It is one of the wealthiest cities in Europe. It has also become Germany's news media and industrial manufacturing center. Hamburg is the world's largest port, known as "Germany's gateway to the world". When ocean-going vessels from all over the world come to Germany, they will stop at the Port of Hamburg. In addition to Seattle in the United States, Hamburg is the world's second largest aircraft manufacturing area, producing "Airbus". Most industries in Hamburg are related to foreign trade.

3.Munich

Munich, is the capital of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is divided into two parts, the old city and the new city, with a total area of 310 square kilometers. It is the largest city in southern Germany and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). It is Germany’s main economy, culture, technology and transportation. One of the centers is the center of bioengineering, software and service industries. Munich is Germany's second largest financial center (after Frankfurt).

4. Cologne

Historical and cultural city and heavy industrial city on the Rhine River in western Germany. Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany with a population of 1 million. Second only to Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.

5. Frankfurt

Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany and the largest city in the state of Hessen. It is an important industrial, commercial, financial and transportation center in Germany and Europe. It is located in the state of Hessen in western Germany, on the lower reaches of the Main River, a tributary of the central Rhine. Frankfurt has Germany's largest aviation hub and railway hub. Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) has become one of the most important international airports and air transport hubs in the world, and the third largest airport in Europe after London Heathrow International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport. Frankfurt is an important industrial, commercial, financial service, and transportation center in Germany and even Europe. There are more than 324 banks in the city, operating 85% of German stock transactions, and Europe's largest international auto show.

  Jet Lag

The time difference between Germany and China: Daylight saving time is 6 hours, non-daylight saving time is 7 hours. Germany is in East 1 time zone, China is in East 8 time zone, and China is 7 hours faster than Germany.

  Population

The total population of Germany in 2018 is about 83.15 million, the number of men in Germany: 39,895,722, the number of women: 41456562, men: 49.0%, women: 51.0% (the data are collected in 2018), the ratio of men to women in the German population in 2018: 96: 100.

  Nation

The main ethnic group is Germans, with a small number of Danes and Sorbs. General German. In addition, there are 7.214 million foreigners, accounting for 8.9% of the total population, of which the most are Turks, with a total of 1.61 million (data at the end of 2011, German Federal Statistical Office website).

  Language

General German.

  Main Holiday

- January 1st / New Year's Day / Neujahr
- Good Friday / Karfreitag / The Friday before the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the specific date is not fixed.
- January 17th / Easter Monday / Ostermontag / Monday, the specific date is not fixed. Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon at the vernal equinox. If the full moon happens to be Sunday, then it will be delayed by one week.
- May 1st / Labor Day / Tag der Arbeit
- Ascension Day / Christi Himmelfahrt / 40 days after Easter, the specific date is not fixed.
- Pentecost / Pfingstmontag / 10 days after Ascension, 50 days after Easter, the specific date is not fixed.
- October 3rd / German Reunification Day / Tag der Deutschen Einheit / The day when the former East and West Germany were reunited after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- December 25th/26th / Christmas / Weihnachten / Important holiday.

Natural Resources

Germany is a country with relatively poor natural resources. In addition to rich reserves of hard coal, lignite and salt, it relies heavily on imports in terms of raw material supply and energy. About 2/3 of primary energy needs to be imported. The natural gas reserves are about 382 billion cubic meters, which can meet about a quarter of domestic demand. The proven reserves of hard coal are about 230 billion tons, lignite is about 80 billion tons; the proven reserves of other minerals are: about 13 billion tons of potash, 1.6 billion tons of iron ore, and 50 million tons of petroleum. There are a few uranium mines in the southeast. The forest covers an area of 10.766 million hectares, accounting for about 30% of the country's area. The water area is 860,000 hectares, accounting for 2.4% of the national area.

More than 60% of Germany's energy supply depends on imports, especially crude oil and natural gas rely heavily on imports. Nuclear energy in Germany has shown a downward trend. As alternative energy sources, renewable energy and waste have reached 14% of Germany's energy supply, and more than 30% of power generation comes from renewable energy and waste.

Major Industries

Automobile and auto parts industry

Germany is the world's automobile manufacturing power, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are known to all ages, and Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche are well known. In the global mid-to-high-end car market, German car brands occupy an important position, and Maybach and Bentley have become symbols of noble status.

28% of R&D personnel in the German industry are engaged in automotive R&D, and one-ninth of the employees in the automotive industry work in the R&D department. The German automobile industry has more than 3,600 patents annually. At present, about 1,000 German companies are engaged in the production of automobiles and accessories, and the industry employs about 750,000 people.

Electronic and electrical industry

Germany has a world-leading electronic and electrical industry. The German electronics and electrical industry invests in research and development, and the investment in innovation is extremely high, with more than 14,000 related patents. Automobiles, data processing, and industrial electronics are the three main areas of the industry, accounting for approximately 37%, 28%, and 23.4 of the industry’s sales respectively. %.

The main products of German electronic components include: semiconductor products (integrated circuits, high-fidelity discrete components), resistors, capacitors, condensers, inductors, passive and hybrid microcircuits, electromechanical components (connectors, switches) and printing/ Hybrid circuit boards, etc. The future development of the German electronic component market will mainly depend on the development of the automotive industry and the development of industrial electronics.

Machinery Manufacturing Industry

Machinery and equipment manufacturing has always been the most employed industry in Germany. German machinery manufacturing is second to none in Europe. Germany is the world's largest exporter of machinery and equipment, 76% of its products are sold abroad, and its exports account for about 19% of the world's total machinery exports. Among 32 product areas, German products are the world's largest exporter in 18 areas.

Chemical Industry

The chemical industry is the fourth pillar industry in Germany. Germany is the world's fourth largest chemical producer and largest exporter of chemical products, with excellent infrastructure, numerous research institutions and high-quality labor. More than 400,000 employees are employed. The chemical engineering departments of 58 universities, the applied science departments of 24 universities and 68 non-university chemical research institutions are engaged in related research.

The three dominant areas of the German chemical industry are basic organic chemicals, primary plastic products and pharmaceuticals. These three product areas account for between 15-20% of Germany's total chemical production.

Infrastructure

Railway

The German railway network is one of the core parts of European traffic roads. It ranks first among EU countries with a length of 33,300 kilometers, connecting all large cities and almost all small cities.

Sea Freight

In 2016, German seaport freight volume was 293 million tons, an increase of 0.3% year-on-year. The Port of Hamburg is the largest port in Germany and the largest port for European container cargo to and from China. In 2016, the port of Hamburg had a cargo volume of 138 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%. Among them, container transportation volume was 8.9 million, an increase of 1% year-on-year.

Air Transport

The civil aviation industry in Germany is developed, and Frankfurt Airport is one of the world's major airports. The four most important passenger airports are Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Dusseldorf Airport and Berlin Tegel Airport.

GDP fell precipitously in 2019 and fell sharply in 2020

Germany is the largest economy in Europe. In 2019, the GDP of Germany is about 3.85 trillion U.S. dollars converted according to the average exchange rate of the euro and the U.S. dollar, which is about 26.8% of China. It ranks fourth in the world, with an actual growth rate of 0.6%, compared with 1.5% in 2018. Compared with the actual economic growth rate of China, it is simply a "cliff decline."

GDP per capita is about 41,345 euros, equivalent to 46,285 US dollars (about 46,300 US dollars), ranking 17th in the world.

German GDP growth rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

Affected by the epidemic, the GDP growth rate will drop sharply in 2020, and the German government predicts that GDP will fall by 5.5% in 2020.

Foreign exchange reserves are volatile

Trends of Germany's total foreign exchange reserves over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

Between 2013 and 2014, Germany's foreign exchange reserves fell sharply. After 2018, there has been a substantial increase with large fluctuations.

Germany's foreign exchange reserves in 2019 were 59.185 billion US dollars.

The overall growth of the employed population, the unemployment rate has been declining in recent years

German employment trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2010 to 2019, the overall employment population in Germany showed a steady growth. Affected by the epidemic and blockade, the employment population will show a significant downward trend in 2020.

Germany's unemployment rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2010 to 2019, the unemployment rate in Germany has been declining year by year, and the overall situation is improving. Affected by the epidemic, the unemployment rate has increased significantly this year.

After 2015, the CPI continued to rise, and the inflation rate fluctuated greatly

German Consumer Price Index CPI over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

After 2015, the German consumer price index CPI has seen a significant increase, and it will stabilize in 2020.

German inflation rate trend chart over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2011 to 2020, Germany's inflation rate fluctuated greatly. In 2015 and 2016, it once fell to a negative number. In recent years, it has basically fluctuated between 1% and 2%. Affected by the epidemic this year, it fell sharply again to a negative number.

Corporate income tax 30%

German corporate income tax trends over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2010 to 2020, the German corporate income tax rate has been stable at around 30%.

Personal income tax 45%

Personal income tax trends in Germany over the years | TRADING ECONOMICS

From 2010 to 2020, the German personal income tax rate has been stable at 45%.

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