Inflation

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According to CIA World Factbook, Germany's inflation rate was 1.1% in 2010 compared to in 2009 when it was .4%.  Germany is ranked at 22nd in the world.  Germany's inflation rate is rather low along with other other countries that border it such as Austria and Switzerland.  Although, based off of a March 2011 report by SFGate.com, Germany's inflation rate seems to be rising at a surprising rate.  It has now reached 2.1% driven by large increases in energy prices, which were up 10.2 percent compared with February 2010. Food prices were also up 3.4 percent compared with the same month the year before. 

Unemployment

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CIA World Factbook states that the unemployment rate in 2010 for Germany was 7.4%, which ranks 78th in the world.  This may seem like a rather high percentage but for Germany, this is great news.  The unemployment rate has not been this low since 1992 (12.1% in 2005, historical high).  Germany's bordering countries have mixed results when dealing with unemployment.  Rates are rather low in Austria (4.5%) and Switzerland (3.9%).  Where as to Poland (11.8%) and France (9.5%) are very high.   Reasons for unemployment decreasing in Germany can be mostly contributed to the German labor policy  Kurzabeit or "short work program" which encourages companies to furlough workers or give them fewer hours instead of firing them, making up lost wages out of a fund filled in good times through payroll deductions and company contributions.  It also makes sure employees' social contributions such as pensions, health care, longtime care, jobless benefits are fully met by the Federal Employment Agency. 

Real GDP

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Germany's GDP is $2.96 trillion, which ranks 6 in the world, based on CIA World Factbook.  Germany is the largest economy in Europe, so this high number is not a surprise at all.  Switzerland has a GDP of $326.5 billion and Austria $332.6 billion.  These bordering countries are both smaller  and definitely do not have as big as an economic impact as Germany does.  However, bordering France is high at $2.16 trillion.  Germany's GDP per capita is $35,900 which ranks 31st in the world.  This is a decent number for Germany, but considering where it ranks in real GDP, the per capital is considerably small.  As mentioned before, Switzerland and Austria both have a smaller GDP than Germany.  Although the both have a higher per-capita GDP with Switzerland at $42,900 and Austria at $40,300.  Germany's real GDP and per-capita GDP don't quite match up probably due to the percentage of people unemployed. 

Economic Growth

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The German economy is rapidly growing.  It is the number one economy because it manufactures products that others will need.  In 2010, the GDP growth rate was 3.6%, this is the best economic performance Germany has witnessed since its reunification in 1990.  The way Germany dealt with the economic crisis was better than almost any other country. "A vast expansion of a program paying to keep workers employed, rather than dealing with them once they lost their jobs, was the most direct step taken in the heat of the crisis," Nicholas Kulish (New York Times).  Germany did the opposite of what other stuggling countries, such as the United States, did in a economic crisis.  The video below explains into further detail how Germany is the economic pride of Europe and the smart economic decisions it has made.


 

Areas for concern

The biggest area of concern for Germany would probably have to be the unemployment rate.  Although unemployment rates have decreased tremendously, they are still considerably high.  I believe that this issue is definitely in the process of being solved though especially with the Kurzabeit program. 

Sources:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-03-11/business/28683030_1_inflation-rate-consumer-inflation-wholesale-prices
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/world/europe/14germany.html
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/why-germanys-unemployment-rate-lower
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-Rate.aspx?Symbol=DEM