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.

The German economy shrank for the second straight year in 2024 as worried consumers held back on spending and Chinese competition ate into the country’s traditional exports of cars and industrial machinery.

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

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.

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.

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