Monitoring Report DIGITAL Economy 2015 - Turnover of German Internet Economy Exceeds EUR 100 Billion
Research
The German Internet economy generated a turnover of more than EUR 100 billion with web-based goods and services in 2014. Compared to the previous year, turnover has increased by almost twelve per cent. Applications and IT services as well as expenses for stationary and mobile Internet usage were the main contributors. On a global scale, Germany ranks fifth with a turnover per capita in the Internet economy of EUR 1,266, behind leader South Korea (EUR 2,221), the UK (EUR 2,194), the USA (EUR 2,027) and Finland (EUR 1,622). These are the findings of the DIGITAL Economy 2015 Monitoring Report, conducted by the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in collaboration with TNS Infratest, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
"The dynamic development of the Internet economy shows that digitalisation has reached virtually all areas of the economy and society in Germany. Nevertheless, economic policy-makers should further improve framework conditions in order to strengthen Germany's position in international competition," says ProfessorIrene Bertschek, head of the Research Department "Information and Communication Technologies" (ICT) at ZEW.
The report also shows the essential position of the ICT sector in the German digital economy. In 2014, the ICT sector generated EUR 93 billion, corresponding to 4.6 per cent of the entire industrial value added. The sector thus ranks ahead of the mechanical engineering sector (4.4 per cent), a traditionally strong industry in Germany, and just slightly behind the automotive industry (5.3 per cent).
Long-term economic growth in Germany also benefits from the development of the ICT sector: in 2014, the sector saw an investment volume of EUR 15.8 billion, which corresponds to 3.2 per cent of investments in the German industrial economy.
The ICT sector also turns out to be increasingly popular as an employer. The number of people in Germany working in this sector was well above one million in 2014, which is an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to the previous year.
Compared with other sectors, the automotive industry spent the largest amount for the development and introduction of new products and processes with about EUR 46.6 billion, while the ICT sector spent about EUR 15.1 billion on innovation in the study period. The investment volume has thus increased by 13 per cent, compared to the previous year.
Despite declining start-up dynamics in Germany, the ICT sector boasts an above-average start-up activity when compared to other sectors, with about 6,700 new businesses in 2014.
Fore more information please contact
Professor Irene Bertschek, Phone +49/621/1235-178, E-mail bertschek@zew.de