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.

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

The German economy, Europe's biggest, shrank for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to preliminary official figures released Wednesday weeks before an election in which the economy is the top issue.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, recorded its second consecutive annual contraction in 2024, with gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 0.2%, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office,

Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, contracted for the second year in a row in 2024, official data showed Wednesday, underscoring the challenges facing the region as it tries to get economic growth back on track.

The German economy contracted for the second consecutive year in 2024, being the weakest economy again among eurozone peers. Europe's biggest economy contracted by 0.1% in the final quarter of last year and shrank by 0.