The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest
- is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits
from a highly skilled labor force. Like its western European neighbors, Germany faces
significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and
declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and
necessitate structural reforms.

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  Germany is one of the larger Central European countries. By European
standards it has many natural resources, including lignite, anthracite, timber, peat, iron ore and
hydroelectric power. However, Germany has very few natural gas or petroleum deposits and so it
must import large amounts of them. The service sector contributes around 70% of the total GDP,
industry 29.1%. Most of the country's products are in engineering, especially in automobiles,
machinery, metals, and chemical goods. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines and
solar power technology in the world. The largest annual international trade fairs and congresses
are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin Of the world's 500
largest stock market listed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are
headquartered in Germany. In 2010 the ten largest were Volkswagen, Allianz, E.ON, Daimler,
Siemens, Metro, Deutsche Telekom, Munich Re, BASF, and BMW. Other large German
companies include: Robert Bosch, Thyssen Krupp, and MAN (diversified industrials); Bayer and
Merck (pharmaceuticals); Adidas and Puma (clothing and footwear); Commerzbank and
Deutsche Bank (banking and finance); Alde, Lidl and Edeka (retail); SAP (computer software);
Infineon (semiconductors); Henkel (household and personal consumer products); Deutsche Post
(logistics); and Hugo Boss (luxury goods). Well known global brands are Mercedes Benz,
BMW, Adidas, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, DHL, T-Mobile, Lufthansa, SAP, and Nivea.
Between 1991 and 2010, 40'301 mergers & acquisitions with an involvement of German firms
with a total known value of 2'422 bill. EUR have been announced. The largest transactions since
1991 are: the acquisition of Mannesmann by Vodafone for 204.8 bil. EUR in 1999, the merger of
Daimler-Benz with Chrysler to form DaimlerChrysler in 1998 valued at 36.3 bil. EUR, Deutsche
Telekom acquired Voice Stream Wireless Corp for 30.8 bil. EUR in 2000, the sale of T-Mobile
USA Inc by Deutsche Telekom to AT&T Inc for 27.6 bil. EUR in 2011. As of December
2010[update], as measured by ILO standards the German unemployment rate was 6.1 percent

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(compared with 7.2 percent as measured by German standards). Lignite is extracted in the
extreme western and eastern parts of the country, mainly in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen and
Brandenburg. Considerable amounts are burned in coal plants near to the mining areas, to
produce electricity. Transporting lignite over far distances is not economically feasible, therefore
the plants are located practically next to the extraction sites. Bituminous coal is mined in
Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saarland. Most power plants burning bituminous coal operate on
imported material; therefore the plants are located not only near to the mining sites, but
throughout the country.

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Agriculture is important for the country's food security and also a provider of
jobs. Germany produce potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, and
poultry. Over 80 percent of Germany's land is used for agriculture and forestry. Like other
sectors of the economy, it has undergone profound structural changes in the second half of the
20th century. In the western states, the number of farms decreased dramatically between 1949
and 1997 as machines gradually replaced human workers, and productivity increased. In 1950 1
farm worker produced food for 10 people; by 1996 1 farm worker produced food for 108 people.
Attracted by a better income, many farmers left agriculture for the industrial and service sectors.
Family farms predominate in Germany's old western states, and in 1997, 87 percent of all
farmers in western Germany worked on fewer than 124 acres. Individual farm enterprises have
also gained ground in the east: in 1997 they accounted for 80 percent of agricultural output from
the eastern states, while working on only slightly more than 20 percent of the agricultural land
available in the east. Chief agricultural products include milk, pork, beef, poultry, cereals,
potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbages, and sugar beets. In some regions wine, fruits, and vegetables,
and other horticultural products play an important role. Agricultural products vary from region to
region. In the flat terrain of northern Germany and especially in the eastern portions, cereals and
sugar beets are grown. Elsewhere, on more hilly terrain, and even on mountainous land, farmers
produce vegetables, milk, pork, or beef. Fruit orchards and vegetable farms surround almost all
large cities. River valleys in southern and western Germany along the Rhine and the Main are
covered with vineyards. German beer is world-renowned and is produced mainly, but not
exclusively, in Bavaria. Germany has a high level of exports of farm products: in 1997, its
exports had a total worth of DM42 billion. Agricultural imports amounted to DM72 billion,
making Germany the world's largest importer of farm products.

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Important areas of German agricultural policy have transferred to the European Union,
particularly in market and price policy, foreign trade policy, and structural policy. EU
agricultural reforms in 1992 cut market price supports, replacing artificial prices with
government subsidies, and put stricter controls on output volume. Through the reduction of price
supports and through additional measures, the reforms promoted more effective farming methods
and more ecologically safe agricultural production. The federal and state governments, in their
turn, provided financial assistance for agricultural development, land consolidation, village
renewal, and construction of country roads. Special funds were available for disadvantaged areas
where agriculture was an important economic and social factor. The government's requirements
of good agricultural practice required that fertilization and plant protection did not exceed an
established maximum, and farmers who used environmentally friendly farming methods received
financial compensation in recognition of their environmental policy.

ô  Germany has been one of the most active trading countries in the world. Its trading
relationship spans almost all the major trading countries in Europe and around the world. For
these reasons, Germany trade remains the largest in European Union and in the top 5 countries in
the world for its trade volumes. Germany¶s trade is further helped by its innovation in solar
power research and development. In fact, Germany is the largest producer of wind turbines and
solar power technology. Germany imports amounted to $1.022 trillion in 2009 and ranked 3rd in
the world. The figures, understandably, were low due to recession. In 2008, the figures amounted
to $1.232 trillion.

c ^ : Germany only major mineral product is coal, the country¶s only domestic
fuel source. As a result more than 75% of the country¶s output is used for power
generation. Coal accounts for 50% of the country¶s electricity generation. Most of
Germany¶s good quality hard coal is located at depth, making production expensive.
Germany's minerals and metals industry, which included industrial processing,
construction, and mining, contributed almost 1% to the GDP, which grew at 2.8% in
2000, the fastest rate since reunification. Germany, whose export-oriented economy
was the largest in Europe, accounting for more than 25% of the EU's economy, was a
major processing nation, relying on imports of raw materials for the metals processing
industry and the manufacture of industrial mineral products; one-third of national
output went to external markets. Germany was a leader in the mining equipment
manufacturing sector, and was among the largest and most technologically advanced
producers of iron, coal, and cement. Although the underground mining sector has
steadily declined²mining production in 2000 was at 79% of its 1990 level²certain
minerals remained important domestically and worldwide. In 2000, Germany was the
world's largest lignite producer, the world's third-largest producer of potash, Western
Europe's second-largest producer of kaolin, a major European producer of crude

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 gypsum, and self-sufficient in feldspar. The ongoing cleanup of uranium mining
operations in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was viewed as Europe's
biggest mine rehabilitation project²48 waste rock piles contained 311 million cu m of
waste material, and 14 tailing ponds contained 160 million cu m of residues from
uranium-reprocessing plants; work in 2000 focused on decommissioning facilities and
immobilizing contaminated material. Except for the very large lignite and potash
operations, most of the producing and processing facilities in operation were small.
The restructuring and privatization of facilities in the former GDR continued,
including of the mineral-resource industries. Production figures for 2000 were, in
million tons: potash, 3.4; kaolin, 3.7; marketable gypsum and anhydrite, 4, down from
4.6 in 1999; feldspar, 0.45; industrial dolomite and limestone, 77.9, up from 64 in
1996; and marketable salt (evaporated, rock, and other), 13.2, down from 15.9 in 1999.
Kali und Salt AG, which operated seven mines in four potash districts, had 13% of the
world potash market, 30% of the market for potassium sulfate, and a capacity to
produce 3.5 million tons per year. In 2000, Germany also produced barite; bromine;
chalk; clays (betonies, ceramic, fire, fuller's earth, brick); diatomite; fluorspar;
graphite; lime; quicklime; dead-burned dolomite; nitrogen; phosphate materials,
including Thomas slag; mineral and natural pigments; pumice; dimension stone;
quartz; quartzite; slate; building sand; gravel; terrazzo splits; foundry sand; industrial
glass sand; talc; and steatite. In terms of overseas developments, Sud-Chemie AG was
the largest betonies producer in Europe. Between 140 and 160 small-to medium-sized
clay mines were in operation; about one-half of the high-quality refractory and ceramic
clays produced were from the Rhineland-Palatinate area. No iron ore was mined in
1999 and 2000; demand was met by imports of 47 million tons

0  ^ 

 :40 percent of the German workforce was involved in
manufacturing, with the main industries being machine tools, automotive
manufacturing, electrical engineering, iron, steel, chemicals, and optics. Although the
industrial sector in the former East Germany is still evolving, manufacturing in that
part of Germany is expected to concentrate in the same industries over time. Thus, the
future German economy will retain a powerful industrial component that will likely
total well above 30 percent of German GDP. Almost all areas of western Germany
have some industry. The main industrial areas are the Ruhr district in North Rhine-
Westphalia, the traditional center of German coal, steel, and heavy industry; the
concentration of industry around several large cities, such as Hanover, Munich,
Frankfurt am Main, and Stuttgart; the chemical production areas that stretch mainly
along the Rhine River in Baden-Württemberg and farther north; and the automotive
manufacturing centers, increasingly concentrated in southern Germany in Bavaria and
Baden-Württemberg. In eastern Germany, the main industrial manufacturing areas are
in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, principally concentrated in the Leipzig,
Dresden, Halle, and Chemnitz regions. Before World War II, Saxony was the
technology center of Central Europe. The Elbe River, like the Rhine, attracted
chemical and other industry along its shores. It is uncertain which eastern German

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 industries will survive, but the firms in the southern part of the region appear to have
better chances than those farther north. Even before unification, more industry was
concentrated in the south than in the north. The districts in northern East Germany had
industrial employment below 25 percent, those around Berlin had industrial
employment between 25 and 35 percent, and that south of Berlin had over 35 percent
employment in industry. No such clear geographical delineation for sector
employment existed in West Germany. The glory of German industry is not in the big
firms that are well known around the world, such as Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen,
Siemens, or Bayer (see table 16, Appendix). It is in the small- and medium-sized firms
that constitute what the Germans call the Mittelstand. Although that term has political
and social as well as management connotations, it has been widely accepted to mean
companies that employ fewer than 500 workers. Such firms constitute 98 percent of all
German companies, hire 80 percent of all employees, are responsible for a significant
share of exports, and provide one of the firmest foundations of the middle class. The
government has supported and furthered the Mittelstand, in part for political reasons,
but also because it makes a crucial contribution to the economy. The government has
established special provisions that permit those firms to cooperate if they do not
thereby hinder competition. It makes available special funds to promote research and
development by Mittelstandcompanies. After unification, the government used
investment and tax incentives to encourage Mittelstand companies to invest in eastern
Germany.
‘  ô
 According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports, Germany is
rated as one of the safest travel destinations worldwide. Germany is also the third most
visited country in Europe, with a total of 369.6 million overnights during 2010. This
number includes 56.5 million nights by foreign visitors, the majority of foreign tourists
in 2009 coming from the Netherlands, the United States and Switzerland (see table).
The official body for tourism in Germany is the German National Tourist Board
(GNTB), represented worldwide by National Tourist Offices in 29 countries. Surveys
by the GNTB include perceptions and reasons for holidaying in Germany, which are
as follows: culture (75%), outdoors/countryside (59%), cities (59%), cleanliness
(47%), security (41%), modernity (36%), good hotels (35%), good gastronomy/cuisine
(34%), good accessibility (30%), cosmopolitanism/hospitality (27%), good shopping
opportunities (21%), exciting nightlife (17%) and good price/performance ratio (10%)
(Multiple answers were possible). More than 30% of Germans spend their holiday in
their own country. With more than 133 million foreign visitors (2008) Germany is
ranked as the 7th most visited travel destination worldwide. A total of 27.2 billion
Euros is spent on travel and tourism: this is equivalent to 3.2% of Germany's GNP The
history of tourism in Germany goes back to cities and landscapes being visited for
education and recreation. From the late 18th century onwards, cities like Dresden,
Munich, Weimar and Berlin were major stops on a European Grand tour. Spas and
resorts on the North and Baltic Seas and along the Rhine valley particularly developed
during the 19th and early 20th century and since the end of World War II tourism has
expanded greatly, as many tourists visit Germany to experience a sense of European
history. The countryside has a pastoral aura, while the cities exhibit both a modern and
classical feel.

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 Germany is well known for health tourism, with many of the numerous spa towns
having been established at a hot spring, offering convalescence (German: Kur) or
preventive care by means of mineral water and/or other spa treatment. Spa towns and
seaside resorts carry official designations such as Mineral and mud spas (Mineral- und
Mortared), Healthy climate resorts (Heilklimatische Kurorte), Kneipp cure resorts
(Kneippkurorte = water therapy resorts), Seaside resorts (Seebäder), Climatic resorts
(Luftkurorte), and Recreation resorts (Erholungsorte). The largest and most well
known resorts also have casinos, most notably at Bad Wiessee, Baden-Baden
(Kurhaus), Wiesbaden (Kurhaus), Aachen, Travemünde and Westerland (Kurgans).

  The type of currency is different way in German, I want explain some of them
about German currency. Germany is converting your national currency to the Euro. To do this
you can either get it prior to your departure at your local bank, or get it at the arrival airport in
Germany at a currency conversion table. When converting currency at the airport table keeps in
mind that most are not open 24/7. Do not be surprised if the denomination of your converted
currency is much less than that of your local currency. In recent years the Euro has been doing
extremely well. Another way to get Euro while in Germany is to use your ATM card. You can
find an ATM at any bank. Most accept foreign ATM cards but not all. If your ATM card is
rejected you will probably get a ³card not in network´ prompt on the screen. You can expect a
foreign ATM charge of anywhere from 2 to 4 dollars, depending on your card provider, per
transaction. Do not be totally dependent on your foreign credit card. A lot of businesses in
Germany do accept American/British/etc. credit cards but not near as many as in your local
Country, for example, VISA is accepted in most gas stations but only a few restaurants. It is a
good idea to take Euro cash along anytime you go on the economy in Germany. Some American

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based companies/restaurants take U.S. Dollars, for example, all McDonalds in Germany take
American Dollars.

The convert $1.00 = 0.70028.

Europe money convert to $ = 1.42800 USD

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