Press release No. 211 of 30 April 2021
Gross domestic product (GDP), 1st quarter of 2021
-1.7% on the previous quarter (price-, seasonally and calendar-adjusted)
-3.3% on the same quarter a year earlier (price-adjusted)
-3.0% on the same quarter a year earlier (price- and calendar-adjusted)
WIESBADEN – The gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.7% in the 1st quarter of 2021 on the 4th quarter of 2020 after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. After the German economy had recovered slightly in the second half of 2020 (by +8.7% in the 3rd quarter and +0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to most recent calculations), the coronavirus crisis caused another decline in economic performance at the beginning of 2021. This affected household consumption in particular, while exports of goods supported the economy.
Gross domestic product still markedly down in a pre-crisis comparison
GDP in the 1st quarter of 2021 was down a price-adjusted 3.3% and a price- and calendar-adjusted 3.0% compared with the 1st quarter of 2020. Compared with the 4th quarter of 2019, the quarter before the coronavirus crisis began, GDP was 4.9% lower in the 1st quarter of 2021.
Revision of previous results
In addition to calculating first data for the 1st quarter of 2021, the Federal Statistical Office as usual also reviewed the results published so far for the individual quarters and the year of 2020 and included new statistical information in the calculation of results. This resulted in upward revisions of up to 0.4 percentage points of the GDP data published previously for the 3rd and 4th quarters. The annual result was also revised slightly upwards (from -4.9% to -4.8%). Detailed data on the recalculations are shown in the table “Comparison between old and new figures” at the end of this press release.
More information:
Detailed results for the 1st quarter of 2021 will be released by the Federal Statistical Office on 25 May 2021.
A long time series with quarterly results on the gross domestic product starting with the first quarter of 1970 is available here.
Crisis Monitor enables comparison between corona crisis and financial/economic crisis
The gross domestic product is also part of the "Crisis Monitor" (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), in which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the corona crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. The Crisis Monitor complements the "Corona statistics" webpage (www.destatis.de/corona), which has provided statistical information on the economic and social consequences of the corona pandemic.
| Unadjusted figures | Figures according to X13 price-adjusted | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At current prices | Price-adjusted | Seasonally and calendar-adjusted | Calendar- adjusted | |||||
| EUR billion | % 1 | 2015 = 100 | % 1 | 2015 = 100 | % 2 | % 1 3 | ||
| 1 Change on the previous year or the same quarter of the preceding year in %. 2 Change on the previous year or quarter in %. 3 As for years the calendar-adjusted values equal the seasonally and calendar-adjusted values (except for differences due to rounding). qtr = quarter | ||||||||
| 2020 | 3,336.18 | -3.3 | 101.72 | -4.8 | 101.50 | -5.1 | -5.1 | |
| 2020 | 1st qtr | 851.06 | 0.6 | 104.44 | -1.8 | 104.87 | -2.0 | -2.2 |
| 2nd qtr | 768.87 | -9.2 | 93.46 | -11.3 | 94.70 | -9.7 | -11.3 | |
| 3rd qtr | 843.87 | -3.0 | 103.72 | -3.7 | 102.94 | 8.7 | -3.8 | |
| 4th qtr | 872.38 | -1.6 | 105.27 | -2.3 | 103.49 | 0.5 | -3.3 | |
| 2021 | 1st qtr | 841.82 | -1.1 | 101.00 | -3.3 | 101.74 | -1.7 | -3.0 |
| New result | Previous result | Difference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects using X13 | Unadjusted
| Figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects using X13 | Unadjusted
| Figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects using X13 | Unadjusted
| ||
1 Seasonally and calendar-adjusted figures: change on previous quarter; qtr = quarter | |||||||
| Change, percent 1 | Percentage points | ||||||
| 2020 | -5.1 | -4.8 | -5.3 | -4.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
| 2020 | 1st qtr | -2.0 | -1.8 | -2.0 | -1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2nd qtr | -9.7 | -11.3 | -9.7 | -11.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| 3rd qtr | 8.7 | -3.7 | 8.5 | -3.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| 4th qtr | 0.5 | -2.3 | 0.3 | -2.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | |
| 2021 | 1st qtr | -1.7 | -3.3 | x | x | x | x |
