The German economy experienced its second consecutive year of economic recession in 2024, marked mainly by the crisis of the industrial sector and the export model.

A few weeks before the legislative elections, scheduled for February 23, the European country is stagnating, with a contraction of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 0.2% in 2024, according to estimates published on Wednesday, January 15, by the Destatis institute.

In 2023, Germany’s GDP had already contracted by 0.3 % and in the last quarter of 2024, the indicator was 0.1% compared to the previous quarter. Although the International Monetary Fund’s estimates are slightly positive, the Destatis institute has reflected that “German exports, a historical pillar of the country’s economic success, fell despite the global increase in world trade in 2024.”

Ruth Brand, president of the organization, said in a press conference that last year Germany faced strong cyclical and structural pressures, with “greater competition for the German export industry in key markets, high energy costs, interest rates that remain high, and an uncertain economic outlook.”

The crisis affects the automotive, investment and services sectors, so analysts do not foresee a quick recovery in 2025, which could become the third consecutive year of recession.

M.Pino

Source: swissinfo

(Reference image source: Rasmus Gundorff Sæderup on Unsplash)

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La entrada German economy enters a possible third year of recession apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The cybersecurity market is growing rapidly in Germany amid fears of extortion programs and data leaks, the digital association Bitkom reported today.

For this year, an expenditure of 6,200 million euros (7,160 million dollars) is expected in hardware, software and services in this area. This means that the threshold of € 6 billion will be exceeded for the first time. The figure is 9.7 % higher than the previous record year of 2020 (5.6 billion euros in sales), according to calculations carried out by market research company IDC for Bitkom.

“Cyberattacks have become an existential threat to the economy,” said Susanne Dehmel, a member of the Bitkom Executive Board. For companies and administrations, a high level of IT security is essential for survival and must be an integral part of good management, she added. “The coronavirus crisis has shown how vulnerable many companies are. Spending on cybersecurity will continue to increase in the future.”

Increasing turnover

Half of the funds for increased IT security will go to services. Spending is expected to amount to € 3.1 billion in 2021, an increase of 9.8 %. German companies will invest around 2.3 billion euros in computer security software this year, 11.4 % more than in the previous year. Another 815 million euros will be spent on special devices and hardware (4.9 % more).

For next year, Bitkom forecasts a turnover increase of almost ten percent, to 6.8 billion euros. Growth rates of this magnitude will continue in the coming years. For 2025, the association foresees a turnover of the sector of about 8,900 million euros.

Bitkom called for computer security to be established as a political axis in the new legislature. “The safety of our technologies decisively determines the resilience to crises, the success and the sovereignty of the German economy,” said Dehmel.

Source: dpa

La entrada Germany would increase cybersecurity spending by 6.2 billion apareció primero en Bitfinance.