ifo Economic Forecast for Eastern Germany and Saxony Summer 2020: Eastern German economy in recession

The ifo Institute expects a 5.9% slump in East German economic output for the current year. In Saxony it is likely to decline even more sharply at minus 6.4% due to the larger share of industry. However, this will mean that gross domestic product will fall slightly less sharply than in Germany as a whole (-6.7%). In the coming year, the economies in eastern Germany and Saxony are likely to recover significantly with growth rates of 5.8% and 6.3% respectively, and return to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year (Germany: 6.4%).