It is reported that in 2023, Germany replaced Japan as the third largest economy in the world. According to the latest data, Germany’s nominal GDP reached 4.5 trillion US dollars, exceeding Japan’s 4.2 trillion US dollars. At the same time, the United States remains the world’s largest economy, with GDP reaching $27.94 trillion in 2023, followed by China with $17.5 trillion.
According to economists’ analysis, it is not that Germany’s economic performance is better than Japan’s that Germany has replaced Japan as the third largest economy in the world, mainly because the exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar has fallen sharply. However, it is worth noting that although Germany has made great progress on the global economic stage, its domestic economy still faces challenges.
According to the data released by the German Federal Statistical Office, in January 2024, the number of enterprises applying for standard bankruptcy procedures increased by 26.2% year-on-year, while in December 2023, the year-on-year increase was only 12.3%. Economic recession, high interest rates and high energy costs forced more German enterprises to close down in early 2024. This growth trend has continued since June 2023, although the overall bankruptcy data is slightly lower than the level from June 2019 to January 2020.
It is particularly noteworthy that according to the data of November 2023, the transportation and warehousing industries are the industries with the largest number of bankruptcies, while other commercial service industries (such as temporary employment agencies) have also suffered a considerable number of bankruptcies. Steffen Muller, an expert at the Haller Institute of Economics in Germany, said that it is expected that the number of bankruptcies of German enterprises may increase further in the coming months, which shows that the challenges facing the German economy still exist.
Generally speaking, Germany’s economic status has indeed achieved a major breakthrough, but its domestic economy still needs to cope with a series of challenges, especially in the case of increasing global economic uncertainty.
Post time: Feb-21-2024