German GDP up 2.7 pct in 2021, still below pre-crisis level: Destatis

Berlin (Germany), January 15: Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 2.7 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year but was down 2.0 percent from the pre-COVID-19 crisis year 2019, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday.
"Despite the continuing pandemic situation, more delivery bottlenecks and material shortages, the German economy managed to recover from the sharp fall last year although the economic performance has not yet reached its pre-crisis level again," said Georg Thiel, president of Destatis.
After a sharp fall in 2020 because of the pandemic, the economic output of almost all sectors increased in 2021, according to Destatis.
The gross value added of Germany's manufacturing sector increased by 4.4 percent year-on-year. The service sector also recorded noticeable output increases as business service providers, such as research and development, legal and tax consultants, as well as engineering firms, even grew 5.4 percent.
Despite the economic recovery in 2021, economic output in most sectors did not return to pre-crisis levels. Germany's manufacturing sector, for example, was still down 6.0 percent compared to 2019, according to Destatis.
Private consumer spending in Germany stopped falling and stabilized at the low level of the previous year, "still far from its pre-crisis level," Destatis noted.
The development of private consumption would be "burdened by the pandemic and a high inflation rate," the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) said in its monthly economic report on Friday.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) is "cautiously optimistic" about the economic recovery and expects the country's GDP to grow 3.5 percent in 2022.
Source: Xinhua