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Data source: Federal Statistical Office

Geographical Area: Germany

This table includes additional information to the above visualized indicators, i.e. a short definition of this indicator and a description of the politically determined target values as well as explaining the political intention behind selecting this indicator.

Definition

The indicator represents the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant in Germany on the basis of 2020 (in EUR 1,000).

Intention

There are many relationships between the development of gross domestic product (GDP) and the other indicators of the sustainability strategy. Social factors such as population structure, labour supply, the education system and social cohesion in society play an important role in the international competitiveness of the economy. GDP is considered an important indicator for the economic cycle and growth of an economy.

Target

Steady and appropriate economic growth by 2030

Type of target

Target direction

Implemen­tation in weather symbol calculation

The gross domestic product per capita should increase.

Based on the target formulation, indicator 8.4 for 2024 is rated as “Thunderstorm”. The value of the indicator has decreased both from 2023 to 2024 and on average from 2019 to 2024.

Assessment

Weathersymbol: Thuder strom

Data state

25.02.2025

8.4 Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita

Content and Development of the Indicator

The indicator represents the inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. In 2024, it amounted to 42,583 euros per capita, which was 0.5 % below the previous year's value. Between 1991 and 2024, the inflation-adjusted GDP per capita increased by a total of 40.0 %.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in the inflation-adjusted GDP per capita of 4.2 %. An even sharper drop occurred only in 2009, as a result of the global financial and economic crisis, with a decrease of 5.2 %.

Due to the lack of a uniform definition of adequate and sustained economic growth, only the average annual change over the last five years can be used as a reference. This was 0.3 % and thus indicates a long-term negative trend of the indicator.

At the level of the Bundesländer, the picture in 2023 was as follows: Sachsen-Anhalt recorded the lowest real GDP per capita at 27,163 euros, while Hamburg recorded the highest at 61,590 euros.

Background on the Calculation

GDP measures the total economic output produced within a country during a reporting period. It includes both market-traded and government-provided goods and services. Residents are defined as all persons who have their permanent place of residence in Germany.

The calculation is based on the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA), which mandates the concepts and methods of the national accounts (VGR). The national accounts constitute an integrated accounting framework representing economic activity over a specific period. The results are consistently determined within a closed accounting system and presented in tabular form. GDP is the central indicator of the national accounts.

The population figures used for calculating the indicator are the average population numbers, extrapolated and updated from the 2011 census by the Federal Statistical Office.

Limitations of GDP

GDP primarily functions as a production and income indicator. For a comprehensive measure of welfare, supplementary indicators are necessary, such as those from the Environmental Economic Accounts (UGR), which represent interactions between the economy and the environment. As a single figure, GDP naturally does not provide information about the distribution of income and wealth among different population groups.

Changes in stock variables – with the exception of the capital stock, which is accounted for through investments and depreciation – are not captured in GDP. Key economic variables such as the stocks and quality of human capital (e.g., education, health), social capital (e.g., security, integration), and natural capital (e.g., resources, ecosystems) are also excluded from GDP.

Therefore, it is not possible to assess whether GDP growth has contributed to capital maintenance in a comprehensive sense. Accordingly, no direct conclusions about the sustainability of economic growth can be drawn from GDP.