German GDP grows 1.9% in 2022 despite difficult conditions: Destatis - Berlin News

Despite "difficult framework conditions", such as the consequences of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, rising energy prices, delivery bottlenecks and the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, the German economy "managed to perform well", Ruth Brand, president of Destatis, said in a statement.

The development of individual sectors varied considerably.

While some service branches, such as the transport and hospitality sectors, "profited from catch-up effects after almost all Covid-19 restrictions had been lifted", gross value added in the trade sector declined, Destatis noted.

The creative and entertainment industries also posted particularly strong 6.3 per cent growth of value-added.

"The significant increase in GDP in the past year should not obscure the losses caused by the crisis," Stefan Kooths, vice president and director of the Business Cycles and Growth Research Center at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), said in a statement on Friday.

"Without the energy price shock and persistent supply bottlenecks, economic output would have risen twice as strongly," Kooths added.

For 2023, IfW Kiel no longer fears a recession and expects GDP to grow by 0.3 per cent.