Industries in Germany (2024)

FAQs

What are the main industries in Germany? ›

Germany's principal industries include machine building, automobiles, electrical engineering and electronics, chemicals, and food processing.

Rhine-Ruhr, at the center of Germany's industrial heartland, is the historic headquarters of steel, mining and automobile production. These industries demand an active network of logistics distribution and industrial properties.

In 2019, Germany was the leading producer of kaolin in the world, having produced 11.7%1 of the world's output; the 2d-ranked producer of peat (13.2%) and fused aluminum oxides (6.2%); the 3d-ranked producer of refined selenium (excluding the United States, 10.4%); the 4th-ranked producer of salt (5.1%); the 5th-ranked ...

What are the largest sectors in Germany? Four sectors dominate German industry: the automotive, mechanical engineering, chemical and electrical industry. Global players are Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW (all automotive), BASF, the world's largest chemical company with around 118,000 employees, and Siemens (electrical).

Germany's main economic hubs are the large metropolitan regions such as the Ruhr. The Munich and Stuttgart metropolitan areas are known for high tech and automotive manufacturing. The Rhine-Neckar region is a centre of the chemicals and IT industry, while Frankfurt am Main is the financial centre.

Chemnitz developed into the leading industrial city in Germany. Machine tool building, textile machine building, the textile industry, bicycle building, motorcycle building, vehicle building, steam engine building, locomotive building and the chemical industry played a leading role.

Germany's focus on testing, innovation, and quality gave rise to its world-renowned machining industry decades ago. Commitment from both the government and the public sector has allowed manufacturing to become a valued, respected profession as well as for the country itself to flourish in the global exports market.

The driving force behind Germany's economic progress is the thriving culture of innovation in German businesses. In order to secure and boost this success, Germany invests over 3% of GDP in research and development. This investment is worth over 100 billion euros a year, with over two-thirds going to businesses.

It is a major producer of bituminous coal and brown coal (lignite), the principal fields of the latter being west of Cologne, east of Halle, south and southwest of Leipzig, and in Lower Lusatia in Brandenburg. Other minerals found in abundance are salt and potash, mined at the periphery of the Harz mountains.

Germany's key export goods are vehicles and vehicle components, with a volume of 210 billion dollars in 2021. These are followed by machines (196 billion dollars) and chemical products (137 billion dollars).

What is Germany known for producing food? ›

A few of Germany's top agricultural exports are: wheat, barley, potatoes, rapeseed and soybean. 83-98% of the food energy consumed in Germany comes from crops that are not native to region. Most of these plants' diversity is found elsewhere on the planet.

Even at a global scale, Germany continues to be an important mining country. In 2016, it was the world largest producer of lignite, the third-largest producer of raw kaolin, the fourth-largest producer of rock salt and the fifth-largest producer of potassium salt.

Germany covers an area of approximately 137,847 square miles, while the United States is approximately 3,791,400 square miles. In terms of area, the closest state in the US is MONTANA, which is slightly bigger than Germany, and New Mexico,which is a bit smaller.

After the Potsdam conference, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest, the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the east. Berlin, the capital city situated in Soviet territory, was also divided into four occupied zones.

Yearly Trade

The most recent exports are led by Cars ($149B), Packaged Medicaments ($74.8B), Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($61.8B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($45.5B), and Refined Petroleum ($25.7B).

Leading industries. The central growth engine for industrialization in Germany was railroad construction. The demand generated by the railroad boosted developments in the three closely interrelated key industries: mining, metal production and mechanical engineering.

Globally, Germany is the second-largest exporter of clothes and textile products. The Chemical and Medical Industry, as well as the Consumer and Service Industries, are also the fastest growing industries.