Germany’s top economic advisory body, the Council of Economic Experts, on Wednesday slashed its growth forecast for 2024, with the country once again expected to be among the worst performing economies in the EU.
Germany, whose annual GDP shrank by 0.3%, was the worst performing major economy in 2023. Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy.
The Council of Economic Experts, the German government’s top economic advisory body, said Germany’s recovery would be slower than expected, in line with other recent forecasts.
“The German Council of Economic Experts forecasts that gross domestic product will grow by 0.2 per cent this year and 0.9 per cent next year,” Martin Werding, one of the council’s five members, told reporters. These are bad numbers,” he said.
The group had previously forecast growth of 0.7 percent in 2024.
In the short term, experts point to weak consumption as the main problem after a year of economic difficulties, while rising inflation and energy costs are also hitting Germany’s manufacturing sector.
In addition, the Council has previously said that Germany is also suffering from long-term structural problems such as a lack of investment and an ageing population.
