Overview In 2020, Germany was the number 4 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 3 in total exports, the number 3 in total imports, the number 20 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 4 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).

Exports The top exports of Germany are Cars ($123B), Packaged Medicaments ($60.9B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($54.6B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($34.1B), and Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($20.9B), exporting mostly to United States ($116B), China ($106B), France ($101B), Netherlands ($84.8B), and United Kingdom ($74.4B).

In 2020, Germany was the world's biggest exporter of Cars ($123B), Packaged Medicaments ($60.9B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($54.6B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($34.1B), and Centrifuges ($13.3B)

Imports The top imports of Germany are Cars ($68.9B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($36B), Packaged Medicaments ($32.2B), Broadcasting Equipment ($28.7B), and Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($25.5B), importing mostly from China ($112B), Netherlands ($105B), Poland ($73.1B), France ($65.2B), and Italy ($62.1B).

In 2020, Germany was the world's biggest importer of Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($17.7B), Cheese ($4.62B), Precious Metal Scraps ($3.61B), Ball Bearings ($3.61B), and Reaction and Catalytic Products ($3.43B)

Location Germany borders Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland by land and Sweden and United Kingdom by sea.

December, 2022

Historical Data

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Top Export (2020): Cars, $123B

Top Destination (2020): United States, $112B

In 2020, Germany exported a total of $1.33T, making it the number 3 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Germany have changed by $61.1B from $1.26T in 2015 to $1.33T in 2020.

The most recent exports are led by Cars ($123B), Packaged Medicaments ($60.9B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($54.6B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($34.1B), and Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($20.9B). The most common destination for the exports of Germany are United States ($116B), China ($106B), France ($101B), Netherlands ($84.8B), and United Kingdom ($74.4B).

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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2019 - 2020)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2019 - 2020)

Germany Exports Services (2020): $235B

Germany Imports Services (2020): $237B

In 2020, Germany exported $235B worth of services. The top services exported by Germany in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($64.3B), Royalties and license fees ($35.9B), Sea transport ($30.8B), Financial services ($20.1B), and Personal travel ($15.5B).

The top services imported by Germany in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($71B), Personal travel ($35.3B), Other transport ($28.3B), Sea transport ($17.5B), and Royalties and license fees ($16B).

Economic Complexity

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Germany has a high level of specialization in Electric Locomotives (6.06), Hops (5.25), Artificial Textile Machinery (5.15), Cermets (4.47), and Microscopes (4.45). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Germany observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Germany according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Metalworking Transfer Machines (2.55), Developed Exposed Photographic Material (2.45), Metalworking Machines (2.09), Cermets (2.08), and Artificial Textile Machinery (2.02). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Germany according to the relatedness index, are Photo Lab Equipment (0.55), Vegetable Parchment (0.54), Photographic Chemicals (0.53), Wood Tar, Oils and Pitch (0.53), and Hormones (0.53). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Germany is not specialized in.

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

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This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Germany. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Germany exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

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During the last 20 years Germany's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨2nd to the 4th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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