German Internet Economy Still Set for Growth

The German Internet economy generated a turnover of more than EUR 111 billion in 2015, which corresponds to a 9 per cent increase compared to the previous year. On a global scale, Germany's Internet economy ranks fifth in terms of turnover per capita, remaining in the midrange alongside with Japan and France. In 2015, EUR 1,379 per capita was invested in Internet-based goods and services in Germany. The highest turnover per capita was recorded in the UK (EUR 2,585), followed by South Korea (EUR 2,389) and the USA (EUR 2,352). These are the findings of the Monitoring Report DIGITAL Economy 2016, 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.

"Despite the Internet economy's continued increase in turnover, Germany was not able to strengthen its position in international competition and failed to achieve a top position in the global ranking. Now, it is important for Germany to continue its efforts and further improve its economic framework conditions," says Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the Research Department "Information and Communication Technologies" (ICT) at ZEW.

The stable growth in Germany's Internet economy is partly due to the positive development of the foreign trade balance. Since 2013, the import surplus of Internet-based goods and services has decreased significantly. The current value of Germany's Internet economy corresponds to a share of about 3.7 per cent of gross domestic product (3.5 per cent in 2014).

ICT sector outshines engineering sector in terms of investment volume

Along with the Internet economy, the ICT sector is the second fundamental pillar of the digital economy. With almost 95,000 businesses and more than one million employees, the ICT sector has become one of Germany's most important economic sectors. With an investment volume of EUR 14,5 billion in 2015, the ICT sector recorded a significantly higher level of investment than the mechanical engineering sector, and a slightly lower level than the automotive industry. That being the case, the ICT sector contributes substantially to the long-term growth of the German economy.

The year-on-year number of business start-ups in the ICT sector remained largely stable. Nevertheless, with approximately 6,600 newly-founded firms, the number of start-ups has reached its lowest level since 2002. Unlike the start-up dynamics in Germany, the ICT sector has altogether experienced a favourable development in the past few years.

For more information please contact:

Prof. Dr. Irene Bertschek, Phone +49 (0)621/1235-178, E-mail bertschek@zew.de