Forecast for Germany 2020: Economy Cools Down

The German economy is divided. While the value added by domestically oriented service and construction companies continues to increase, the manufacturing sector is still in recession. Economic output is likely to have expanded by only 0.5 percent on average in 2019; adjusted for the calendar year, the increase will be 0.6 percent. In 2020, GDP is expected to grow more strongly again at 1.1 percent, although the calendar effect of 0.4 percentage points overstates the rather subdued underlying economic momentum. In 2021, gross domestic product is expected to expand at a rate of 1.5 percent and thus more strongly than production potential.