The German government is expected to significantly lower its domestic gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for this year from the previous 1.1% to 0.3%.
According to local media such as Handelsblatt on the 24th (local time), the German Ministry of Economic Climate Protection plans to include this revised forecast in the annual economic report to be announced on the 29th.
This aligns with the recent forecasts from domestic and international institutions, including the Central Bank of Germany (0.2%), the German Council of Economic Experts (0.4%), and the International Monetary Fund (0.3%).
The growth forecast for Germany presented by the IMF is significantly lower than other major European countries: ▲France (0.8%) ▲Italy (0.7%) ▲Spain (2.3%) ▲United Kingdom (1.6%).
The German government had anticipated that a stimulus plan, named 'Growth Plan,' which involves injecting 57 billion euros (approximately 85.7 trillion won) this year, would raise GDP by 0.5% during last October's economic outlook. However, an economic ministry official noted, 'Due to the influence of early general elections, only part of the growth plan may be executed.'
The German economy experienced a GDP growth rate of -0.3% in 2023 and -0.2% last year, marking the first consecutive decline in 21 years since 2002-2003. Over the past five years, GDP has only increased by 0.1%.