Destatis, Germany’s statistics office released data on Thursday showing that the German economy dipped by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in 4Q24.
Analysts poll from Reuters forecasted, based on available data, the gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink by 0.1% when adjusted for price, seasonal, and calendar variation during the quarter.
Germany’s economy has been stagnating for a long time. Over the past two years, the nation’s GDP has largely hovered around flatline, although the economy has managed to avoid technical recession.
The German economy in both 2023 and 2024 has annually receded by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.
On Wednesday, the German government released its estimated 0.3% growth for 2025, giving some respite for the year, although the revised number is noticeably lower than its previous 1.1% growth forecast.
Robert Habeck, economy and climate minister, raised concerns over the German economy during a press conference on Wednesday.
He said that the country’s struggling economy is mainly due to both internal and global political uncertainty, and these factors weighed down expectations. He also added that the retiring government was unable to fully realize its growth plans as its term was ending prematurely.
Germany is set for an early federal election on 23 February, due to the break up of the nation’s ruling coalition a year prior.
Habeck also remarked that the German economy was also impeded by structural issues, reflecting Finance Minister Jörg Kukies’ comment a week prior.
Kukies said that Germany needs to address structural weaknesses in its economy and that the country should return to a path of economic growth.
