The Bavarian economy grew slightly in the first half of the year, bucking the national trend. With an increase of 0.5 percent, the Free State is in fifth place in Germany, according to data published on Friday by the federal and state statistical offices.
The Germany-wide range is large: While Brandenburg can show an increase of six percent, Rhineland-Palatinate fell by 5.4 percent. The nationwide figure was a minus of 0.3 percent. In addition to Brandenburg, the economy in Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony also grew faster than in Bavaria in the first half of the year.
In recent years, the Free State’s economic growth has usually been slightly better than Germany as a whole – for example in 2022, 2021 and 2019. In 2020, the economy in Bavaria shrank in step with the German economy, and in 2018 growth in Bavaria was below average.
The Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) saw the Free State “in the top field of all regional states” with the current figures. They showed that “despite some challenges such as declining consumption by private households and transformation, there is potential for growth.” According to the minister, the drivers of growth in Bavaria in the first half of the year included the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and the electrical industry.