Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate for the conservative Christian Democratic Union acknowledged the need for a “major effort” to revive the economy as his party pledges to return German growth to 2 percent over the next five years through changes to the welfare and tax systems.

Germany’s economy is tanking—again. For the second year in a row, Europe’s largest economy is officially in decline, shrinking by 0.2% in 2024 after a 0.3% contraction in 2023. This is the first time since 2003 that Germany has suffered back-to-back GDP drops.

Germany's statistics office says the country's economy shrank by 0.2% in 2024 in second consecutive year of decline

Simply sign up to the German economy myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox. Germany’s economy shrank for a second straight year in 2024, underlining the severity of the downturn facing Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse.

Germany's economy shrank for a second straight year in 2024, official figures showed Wednesday, with little hope of a speedy recovery as Europe's traditional powerhouse is also mired in political crisis.

Europe's biggest economy shrank for a second year in a row in 2024, according to data released on Wednesday by the Federal Statistics Office. View on euronews