Press release No. 303 of 25 August 2026
Gross domestic product (GDP), 2nd quarter of 2026
+0.3% on the previous quarter (price, seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+1.0% on the same quarter a year earlier (price adjusted)
+1.0% on the same quarter a year earlier (price and calendar adjusted)
WIESBADEN – The gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter of 2026 compared with the 1st quarter of 2026 after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the increase in economic performance was therefore 0.1 percentage points higher than communicated in the first release of 30 July 2026. "The German economy is maintaining the growth momentum seen at the start of the year", says Ruth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office. "As in the first quarter, growth was primarily driven by the positive development of exports", Brand adds.
On the basis of the new economic indicators available for the 2nd quarter of 2026, the overall economic picture is generally somewhat better than reported in the GDP first release. Turnover in wholesale and retail trade, for example, performed much better than expected. At the same time, there was a noticeable upward revision to exports figures due to new information available on trade in goods in June 2026.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr |
| 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Substantial increase in exports, gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment decreases
As in the previous quarter, foreign trade grew substantially in the 2nd quarter of 2026 after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment. Total exports of goods and services were up 2.0% from the 1st quarter of 2026, a development which was primarily driven by exports of goods (+2.6%). By contrast, exports of services remained unchanged (0.0%) compared with the previous quarter. Imports presented a similar picture: while imports of goods registered a significant increase of 2.1%, only a moderate increase of +0.3% was reported for imports of services. Overall, imports were up 1.5% from the 1st quarter of 2026 after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment.
By contrast, gross fixed capital formation in the 2nd quarter of 2026 decreased slightly by 0.2% after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment. Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment was down significantly on the previous quarter (‑1.4%). While there was a slight increase (+0.1%) in gross fixed capital formation in construction, stronger growth failed to materialise following the weak start to the year, which was due, in part, to the unusually cold conditions. Growth in final consumption expenditure was subdued (+0.1%) in the 2nd quarter of 2026, with the final consumption expenditure of both households and government only increasing slightly (+0.1% in each case) on the previous quarter.
Gross value added up again in 2nd quarter of 2026
After adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations, gross value added in the 2nd quarter of 2026 was up +0.4%, an increase similar to that registered in the previous two quarters. The manufacturing sector, in particular, significantly improved its value added on the previous quarter, registering growth of 0.9%. An increase in economic performance was recorded, in particular, in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products and the manufacture of electrical equipment. By contrast, price adjusted turnover was down on the previous quarter in the manufacture of food products and in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment. Economic performance in the construction industry was virtually unchanged (-0.1%). The decline seen in the previous quarters has therefore lost some momentum, at least. Almost all service branches managed to improve their economic performance in the 2nd quarter of 2026, with significant quarter-on-quarter growth recorded in the information and communication sector, real estate activities and in public services, education, health (+0.6% in each case). Only financial and insurance activities registered a decline in gross value added (-0.7%), after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations.
Gross domestic product up year on year
GDP in the 2nd quarter of 2026 was up a price adjusted 1.0% compared with the 2nd quarter of 2025. The increase was also 1.0% after adjustment for price and calendar effects.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr |
| -0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
Exports up significantly on previous year, gross fixed capital formation in construction down
In the 2nd quarter of 2026, foreign trade improved on the same quarter a year earlier. Price adjusted exports saw a notable increase of 3.7% because exports of goods grew significantly by 5.0% compared with the same period of the previous year. In particular, higher exports of chemical products, data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, and other transport equipment products contributed to this result. Trade in goods improved, especially with the European Union (EU) improved. By contrast, exports of services were down slightly (‑0.1%) compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Price adjusted imports of goods and services were also up significantly from the 2nd quarter of 2025. At +2.5%, the increase was less pronounced than that of exports, however. There was a sharp increase (+4.2%) in imports of goods, which was particularly attributable to higher imports of pharmaceutical products, data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, and motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers. Imports of goods from the United States and China increased in particular, but there was also growth in imports of goods from the EU. By contrast, imports of services decreased by 1.2% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, due, in part, to reduced imports of transport services.
Price adjusted gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment increased compared with the 2nd quarter of 2025 (+1.1%). In particular, general government capital formation, which includes investment spending on defence, saw marked growth. Overall, gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment increased on the previous year, while gross fixed capital formation in vehicles decreased. Gross fixed capital formation in construction registered a significant decline of 1.5%, which was primarily due to sharp increases in prices.
In the 2nd quarter of 2026, price adjusted final consumption expenditure was also up on the same quarter of the previous year, registering an increase of 1.0%. There was a clear divide regarding households and general government: while household final consumption expenditure only registered a slight increase of 0.1% compared with the same quarter of the previous year, government final consumption expenditure rose markedly by 3.0%. This was due, in particular, to higher expenditure by central government and social security funds, with the latter increasing social benefits in kind particularly in the area of statutory health and long-term care insurance.
Gross value added up in almost all sectors compared with a year earlier
Price adjusted gross value added (total) increased by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of 2025. Value added in manufacturing also improved (+1.1%), with the sector thereby registering year-on-year growth once again for the first time since the 1st quarter of 2023. In particular, establishments involved in the manufacture of other transport equipment and in the manufacture of electrical equipment recorded higher turnovers, while manufacturers of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers registered a decline on the previous year. Year on year, price adjusted gross value added in the construction industry was down 1.6%. In particular, building completion work registered a substantial drop in output once again, while value added in civil engineering increased substantially. Businesses in the service branches improved their economic performance, with particularly strong growth recorded in the information and communication sector (+3.9%) and in public services, education, health (+2.1%). By contrast, the value added registered for business services and financial and insurance activities (+0.3% in each case) showed very little change on the same quarter of the previous year.
Sharp decline in employment
Roughly 45.7 million persons in employment whose place of employment was in Germany contributed to the economic performance in the 2nd quarter of 2026. This represented a decrease of 212,000 (-0.5%) compared with the 2nd quarter of 2025. In the service sector, employment declined for the first time since the Covid-19 crisis. As in the previous quarters, the number of people in employment in manufacturing and construction decreased considerably compared with the 2nd quarter of 2025 (see press release no. 292 of 18 August 2026) (only in German).
The average number of hours worked per person in employment remained unchanged (0.0%) in the 2nd quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to first provisional results of the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Agency. The labour volume of the overall economy - the lower number of persons in employment multiplied by the number of hours worked per person in employment, which remained unchanged - was down 0.5% in the same period.
Overall labour productivity, which is measured as the price adjusted GDP per hour worked by persons in employment, rose by 1.5% on the same quarter of the previous year, according to provisional calculations. Labour productivity per person in employment was also 1.5% higher than a year earlier.
Income growth somewhat stronger than consumption growth, savings ratio up slightly on previous year
At current prices, GDP in the 2nd quarter of 2026 increased by 3.8% and gross national income rose by 4.1% on a year earlier. Net national income at factor costs grew by 4.3% compared with the 2nd quarter of 2025, with property and entrepreneurial income increasing by 5.5%, its strongest growth since the 2nd quarter of 2023. The compensation of employees rose at the same pace (+3.9%) as in the previous quarter. Average gross wages and salaries per employee were up 4.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The increase in total net wages and salaries (+4.7%) was even slightly higher.
As household private consumption expenditure at current prices (+2.9%) increased at a slightly slower pace than household income (+3.1%) in the 2nd quarter of 2026 relative to the 2nd quarter of 2025, the savings ratio (9.6%) was slightly higher than in the same quarter of the previous year (9.5%).
Germany's economy compared with other countries
Germany’s economic performance in the 2nd quarter of 2026 was slightly below the European average. Economic performance in the EU as a whole increased by +0.5% quarter on quarter, slightly surpassing Germany's growth of +0.3%. As in the previous quarters, the biggest GDP growth among the other large EU Member States was reported in Spain (+0.7%) after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment. Economic growth in France and Italy (both registering +0.2%) was slightly below that of Germany. In the United States, GDP rose by 0.4% on the 1st quarter of 2026.
At 1.0%, the year-on-year development of economic performance in Germany was somewhat below that of the EU as a whole (+1.2%), after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations.
| USA | Euroarea | EU 27 | France | Italy | Spain | Germany | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous quarter: change on the first quarter of 2026; Same quarter of the previous year: change on the second quarter of 2025. Source: Eurostat and own calculations | |||||||
| Previous quarter | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Same quarter of the previous year | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
A detailed comparison of the growth rates of EU Member States is available on the "Europe in figures" page on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.
Revision of previous results back to the year 2011
As is usual at this time of the year, the Federal Statistical Office fundamentally reviewed the results published for the last four years (2022 to 2025) and included new statistical information in the calculation of the results. This year’s summer revision resulted in changes of -0.2 to +0.6 percentage points for the quarterly price adjusted GDP data published so far. Background: Over the long term (1999-2021), the mean absolute revision of the quarterly change rates between the first release and the final result that is available four years later averaged 0.55 percentage points. The annual change rates of price adjusted GDP for the years 2022 and 2023 changed only slightly (up 0.1 percentage points and down 0.1 percentage points, respectively). The revision for 2024, however, was much more pronounced. While a drop in economic performance of 0.5% had previously been reported, current results indicate that economic performance stagnated (0.0%). The GDP change rate for 2025 remained unchanged at +0.2%.
Departing from the usual procedure, the results for the years 2011 to 2021 were also revised. The reason for this revision was that key data sources, and findings derived from them, were incorporated into the calculations and the results were recalculated back to the 2011 reporting year. As a result, the annual change rates of price adjusted GDP shown for the years 2011 to 2021 are up to 0.1 percentage points higher than previously indicated. Overall, GDP growth in the period from 2011 to 2021 was therefore 0.8 percentage points higher.
All change rates of price adjusted GDP before and after this year's summer revision and the revision differences are provided in the table comparing new and old figures in the first release of 30 July 2026.
Web article offers detailed background information on GDP summer revision
Detailed information on the summer revision of 2026 is provided in the article entitled "Sommerüberarbeitung 2026 der Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnungen – Revisionen und Hintergründe" (only in German) on the "National accounts, domestic product" page of the Federal Statistical Office’s website.
Methodological notes:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons enable long-term comparisons of levels and are largely independent of seasonal fluctuations.
With its first provisional results for quarterly GPD (first release), the Federal Statistical Office provides an up-to-date assessment of overall economic development as early as roughly 30 days after the end of a quarter. As the availability of data is very limited at such an early release date, first results are always subject to greater uncertainties than the more detailed results. These are generally published 25 days later and their data basis is much more precise, especially as regards the last month of each reference quarter. After that, the results are revised several times to factor in new statistical information. More detailed information on the revisions cycle in national accounts is provided by the revision calendar (only in German) on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.
More information:
More detailed results are contained in tables 81000 of the GENESIS-Online database and our German publications Fachserie 18 "Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen", Reihe 1.2 "Vierteljahresergebnisse" and Series 1.3 "Saisonbereinigte Vierteljahresergebnisse nach X13". A long time series containing quarterly results on the gross domestic product since the first quarter of 1970 is available in the "Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen" (only in German) statistical report.
The GDP can also be found on the "Economic Dashboard" (www.dashboard-konjunktur.de) (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together high-frequency indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, the labour market, construction and energy.
| Unadjusted figures | Figures according to X13 price adjusted | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At current prices | Price adjusted, chain-linked | Seasonally and calendar adjusted | Calendar adjusted | |||||
| EUR billion | % 1 | 2020 = 100 | % 1 | 2020 = 100 | % 2 | % 1 3 | ||
| 1 Change on the previous year or on the same quarter of the previous year. 2 Change on the previous year or on the previous quarter in %. 3 For full years, the calendar adjusted values are equal to the seasonally and calendar adjusted values (except for rounding discrepancies). qtr = quarter | ||||||||
| 2022 | 4,010.63 | 8.0 | 105.90 | 1.9 | 105.71 | 1.9 | 1.9 | |
| 2023 | 4,254.93 | 6.1 | 104.83 | -1.0 | 104.85 | -0.8 | -0.8 | |
| 2024 | 4,386.94 | 3.1 | 104.83 | 0.0 | 104.89 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| 2025 | 4,529.71 | 3.3 | 105.07 | 0.2 | 105.25 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
2022 | 1st qtr | 979.74 | 9.4 | 106.04 | 4.1 | 105.53 | 0.8 | 3.8 |
| 2nd qtr | 979.68 | 8.6 | 104.08 | 1.6 | 105.66 | 0.1 | 1.5 | |
| 3rd qtr | 1,010.10 | 7.3 | 106.36 | 1.7 | 106.00 | 0.3 | 1.8 | |
| 4th qtr | 1,041.11 | 6.9 | 107.13 | 0.3 | 105.65 | -0.3 | 0.8 | |
2023 | 1st qtr | 1,052.72 | 7.4 | 105.84 | -0.2 | 104.93 | -0.7 | -0.5 |
| 2nd qtr | 1,037.88 | 5.9 | 102.72 | -1.3 | 104.82 | -0.1 | -0.8 | |
| 3rd qtr | 1,066.02 | 5.5 | 104.89 | -1.4 | 104.98 | 0.2 | -0.9 | |
| 4th qtr | 1,098.31 | 5.5 | 105.85 | -1.2 | 104.66 | -0.3 | -1.0 | |
2024 | 1st qtr | 1,085.49 | 3.1 | 105.09 | -0.7 | 104.88 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 2nd qtr | 1,076.24 | 3.7 | 103.03 | 0.3 | 104.74 | -0.1 | -0.1 | |
| 3rd qtr | 1,099.19 | 3.1 | 105.23 | 0.3 | 104.85 | 0.1 | -0.1 | |
| 4th qtr | 1,126.02 | 2.5 | 105.98 | 0.1 | 105.08 | 0.2 | 0.3 | |
2025 | 1st qtr | 1,116.18 | 2.8 | 105.19 | 0.1 | 105.21 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 2nd qtr | 1,108.89 | 3.0 | 103.06 | 0.0 | 105.19 | 0.0 | 0.4 | |
| 3rd qtr | 1,136.71 | 3.4 | 105.56 | 0.3 | 105.16 | 0.0 | 0.3 | |
| 4th qtr | 1,167.93 | 3.7 | 106.48 | 0.5 | 105.44 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
| 2026 | 1st qtr | 1,155.26 | 3.5 | 106.05 | 0.8 | 105.91 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| 2nd qtr | 1,151.03 | 3.8 | 104.11 | 1.0 | 106.26 | 0.3 | 1.0 | |
| 2025 | 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | |
| 1b: Including acquisitions less disposals of valuables and the statistical difference. 2b: Contributions to growth of price-adjusted GDP, percentage points. 3b: Only seasonally adjusted. qtr = quarter | ||||||
| Unadjusted figures Change on the previous year | ||||||
| Final consumption expenditure | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Household final consumption expenditure | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 3.0 |
| Gross capital formation | 1.5 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | -1.3 |
| Gross fixed capital formation | -1.5 | -1.7 | -0.2 | 1.0 | -1.0 | 0.0 |
| Gross fixed capital formation in construction | -1.6 | -1.7 | -0.6 | -0.1 | -2.9 | -1.5 |
| Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment | -3.4 | -3.9 | -0.7 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Other fixed assets | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.3 |
| Changes in inventories 1b 2b | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Domestic uses | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 |
| Exports | -0.2 | -2.5 | -0.9 | -0.2 | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| Imports | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Balance of exports and imports (net exports) 2b | -1.3 | -2.2 | -1.2 | -1.2 | -0.4 | 0.6 |
| Gross domestic product | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| memorandum item: | ||||||
| GDP per person in employment | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| GDP per hour worked by persons in employment | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Seasonally and calendar adjusted figures change on the previous quarter | ||||||
| Final consumption expenditure | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 0.1 |
| Household final consumption expenditure | 0.6 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 1.0 | -0.6 | 0.1 |
| Government final consumption expenditure | -0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| Gross capital formation | -0.4 | 2.9 | 0.2 | -1.2 | -0.9 | 0.1 |
| Gross fixed capital formation | 0.3 | -1.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | -1.3 | -0.2 |
| Gross fixed capital formation in construction | 0.7 | -1.2 | -0.5 | 0.6 | -1.8 | 0.1 |
| Gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment | -0.2 | -2.0 | 1.1 | 2.8 | -1.7 | -1.4 |
| Other fixed assets | -0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Changes in inventories 1b 2b | -0.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | -0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Domestic uses | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | -0.3 | 0.1 |
| Exports | 1.5 | -1.2 | -0.7 | -0.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| Imports | 1.6 | 0.6 | -0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Balance of exports and imports (net exports)2b | 0.0 | -0.7 | -0.2 | -0.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| memorandum item: | ||||||
| GDP per person in employment | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| GDP per hour worked by persons in employment 3b | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
| 2025 | 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | 3rd qtr | 4th qtr | 1st qtr | 2nd qtr | |
| qtr = quarter | ||||||
| Unadjusted figures Change on the previous year | ||||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 0.0 | -0.6 |
| Industry, excluding construction | -2.4 | -1.9 | -0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| including: | ||||||
| Manufacturing | -2.1 | -2.6 | -1.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 | 1.1 |
| Construction | -4.1 | -4.7 | -2.9 | -1.8 | -3.6 | -1.6 |
| Trade, transport, accommodation and food services | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Information and communication | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| Financial and insurance activities | -4.5 | -4.4 | -2.9 | -0.6 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Real estate activities | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Business services | -0.4 | -0.9 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Public services, education, health | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| Other services | 0.7 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Gross value added, total | -0.5 | -0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Seasonally and calendar adjusted figures change on the previous quarter | ||||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | -0.8 | -0.4 |
| Industry, excluding construction | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| including: | ||||||
| Manufacturing | 0.7 | -0.4 | -0.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Construction | 0.6 | -1.9 | -0.4 | -0.5 | -0.6 | -0.1 |
| Trade, transport, accommodation and food services | 0.6 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Information and communication | 2.0 | -0.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| Financial and insurance activities | -0.3 | -1.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.7 |
| Real estate activities | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Business services | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Public services, education, health | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| Other services | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| Gross value added, total | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |