ermany's aging
population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed
social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from
workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including
strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on
a national basis - and a lack of competition in the sevice sectors
have made slow growth a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and
growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help
Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic
integration and globalization; however, the current government has
failed to pass meaningful economic reform that would improve growth
prospects. Higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in
2006 reduced Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt
limit.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.585 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.858 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.2% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$31,400 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.1%
services: 70% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
43.66 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4%
services: 63.8% (1999)

Unemployment rate:
7.1%
note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate
for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office
estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.8% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28.3 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
17.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.277 trillion
expenditures: $1.344 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2006 est.)

Public debt:
66.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle,
pigs, poultry

Industries:
among the world's largest and most technologically advanced
producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery,
vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages,
shipbuilding, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
4.4% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
566.9 billion kWh (2004)