Press release No. 501 of 29 October 2021
Gross domestic product (GDP), 3rd quarter of 2021
+1.8% on the previous quarter (price-, seasonally and calendar-adjusted)
+2.5% on the same quarter a year earlier (price-adjusted)
+2.5% on the same quarter a year earlier (price- and calendar-adjusted)
WIESBADEN – The gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.8% in the third quarter of 2021 on the second quarter of 2021 after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. The recovery of the German economy thus continued in summer, after the GDP had grown by 1.9% in the second quarter of 2021 (revised results based on most recent calculations). According to first provisional calculations, growth in the third quarter of 2021 is mainly attributable to higher household final consumption expenditure.
Gross domestic product still down in a pre-crisis comparison
The GDP in the third quarter of 2021 was up a price-adjusted 2.5% on the third quarter of 2020 (also calendar-adjusted). The GDP in the third quarter of 2021 was still 1.1% lower (price-, seasonally and calendar-adjusted) than in the fourth quarter of 2019, the quarter before the coronavirus crisis began.
Revision of previous results
In addition to calculating first data for the third quarter of 2021, the Federal Statistical Office as usual also reviewed the results published earlier and included new statistical information in the calculations for the first and second quarter of 2021. The uncertainties during the coronavirus crisis may lead to larger revisions than usual. For the price-adjusted overall GDP, this resulted in changes of up to 0.5 percentage points of the data published so far. 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 third quarter of 2021 will be released by the Federal Statistical Office on 25 November 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 year the calendar-adjusted values equal the seasonally and calendar-adjusted values (except for differences due to rounding). qtr = quarter | ||||||||
| 2020 | 3,367.56 | -3.0 | 102.33 | -4.6 | 102.12 | -4.9 | -4.9 | |
| 2020 | 1st qtr | 859.81 | 0.8 | 105.17 | -1.5 | 105.54 | -1.8 | -1.9 |
| 2nd qtr | 774.06 | -9.2 | 93.80 | -11.3 | 94.99 | -10.0 | -11.3 | |
| 3rd qtr | 853.38 | -2.7 | 104.20 | -3.6 | 103.58 | 9.0 | -3.7 | |
| 4th qtr | 880.31 | -1.3 | 106.17 | -1.9 | 104.35 | 0.7 | -2.9 | |
| 2021 | 1st qtr | 847.11 | -1.5 | 101.79 | -3.2 | 102.40 | -1.9 | -2.9 |
| 2nd qtr | 863.87 | 11.6 | 103.44 | 10.3 | 104.35 | 1.9 | 9.8 | |
| 3rd qtr | 912.14 | 6.9 | 106.79 | 2.5 | 106.21 | 1.8 | 2.5 | |
| 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 | ||||||
| 2021 | 1st qtr | -1.9 | -3.2 | -2.0 | -3.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 2nd qtr | 1.9 | 10.3 | 1.6 | 9.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | |
| 3rd qtr | 1.8 | 2.5 | x | x | x | x | |
