Press release No. 048 of 7 February 2025
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), December 2024
131.7 billion euros
+2.9% on the previous month
+3.4% on the same month a year earlier
2024
1,559.7 billion euros
-1.0% on the previous year
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), December 2024
111.1 billion euros
+2.1% on the previous month
+4.5% on the same month a year earlier
2024
1,318.5 billion euros
-2.8% on the previous year
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), December 2024
+20.7 billion euros
2024
+241.2 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In December 2024, German exports were up 2.9% and imports rose by 2.1% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with November 2024. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 3.4% and imports were up 4.5% from December 2023. Exports were down 1.0% in 2024 compared with 2023 after calendar and seasonal adjustment, while imports to Germany saw a decline of 2.8%.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the value of 131.7 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 111.1 billion euros in December 2024. The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 20.7 billion euros in December 2024. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 19.2 billion euros in November 2024 and 21.1 billion euros in December 2023.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 72.4 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in December 2024, while it imported goods to the value of 57.0 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with November 2024, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries rose by 5.9% and imports from these countries increased by 3.6%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 50.6 billion euros (+6.7%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 37.3 billion euros (+4.0%). Goods to the value of 21.8 billion euros (+3.9%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 19.7 billion euros (+2.9%).
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 59.3 billion euros in December 2024 and imports from those countries totalled 54.1 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with November 2024, exports to third countries declined by 0.5% and imports from third countries rose by 0.5%.
Most German exports in December 2024 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were down 3.5% compared with November 2024, dropping to 13.5 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China increased by 1.4% to 6.7 billion euros, while exports to the United Kingdom fell by 6.6% to 6.7 billion euros.
Most imports in December 2024 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 13.4 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 1.0% decrease compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 3.0% to 7.5 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 3.0% to 3.0 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 19.9% to 0.6 billion euros in December 2024 compared with November 2024 and dropped by 17.1% from December 2023. Imports from Russia rose by 14.4% to 0.1 billion euros in December 2024 compared with November 2024 and were down 33.4% from December 2023.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 113.9 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 99.9 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in December 2024. Compared with December 2023, exports were down 0.2% and imports rose by 1.9%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 14.0 billion euros in December 2024. In December 2023, the surplus was 16.1 billion euros.
Foreign trade results (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) for 2024
Germany exported goods to the value of 1,555.4 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 1,316.3 billion euros in 2024. Exports decreased by 1.3% and imports dropped by 3.0% compared with 2023. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 239.1 billion euros in 2024. In 2023, the surplus was 217.7 billion euros.
Methodological notes:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects.
Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the "Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel" methodological paper (only in German). Calendar and seasonally adjusted values are always notional calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series would serve little purpose.
The results in this press release are provisional data from monthly foreign trade statistics. As detailed results are not available this early, it is not possible to provide information on the reasons for changes in foreign trade as a whole or in trade with individual countries or groups of countries.
| Item | December 2024 | January to December 2024 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | January to December 2023 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 131.7 | 1,559.7 | 2.9 | -1.0 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 72.4 | 847.7 | 5.9 | -1.3 |
| Euro area | 50.6 | 590.4 | 6.7 | -2.2 |
| Non-euro area | 21.8 | 257.4 | 3.9 | 0.6 |
| Third countries | 59.3 | 711.9 | -0.5 | -0.5 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 7.6 | -19.9 | -15.3 |
| Total imports | 111.1 | 1,318.5 | 2.1 | -2.8 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 57.0 | 688.1 | 3.6 | -3.3 |
| Euro area | 37.3 | 454.8 | 4.0 | -4.1 |
| Non-euro area | 19.7 | 233.3 | 2.9 | -1.7 |
| Third countries | 54.1 | 630.3 | 0.5 | -2.3 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.1 | 1.8 | 14.4 | -49.7 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| value in billion euros | change on previous month, % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | value in billion euros | change on previous month, % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | ||
| 2023 | January | 133.5 | 2.1 | 128.9 | 10.6 | 118.8 | 0.4 | 118.2 | 6.8 |
| February | 135.8 | 1.8 | 132.1 | 6.4 | 117.2 | -1.4 | 113.5 | 2.5 | |
| March | 133.2 | -1.9 | 151.9 | 6.2 | 115.8 | -1.2 | 128.0 | -4.4 | |
| April | 128.3 | -3.7 | 120.3 | -2.4 | 111.6 | -3.6 | 106.3 | -12.4 | |
| May | 131.9 | 2.9 | 132.7 | -3.4 | 117.4 | 5.2 | 118.9 | -10.4 | |
| June | 133.5 | 1.2 | 140.4 | 1.9 | 114.7 | -2.3 | 118.2 | -7.8 | |
| July | 131.0 | -1.9 | 127.2 | -1.6 | 113.6 | -0.9 | 110.2 | -11.2 | |
| August | 130.4 | -0.5 | 124.3 | -4.2 | 109.9 | -3.3 | 105.1 | -18.2 | |
| September | 128.1 | -1.7 | 130.2 | -11.3 | 110.2 | 0.3 | 110.8 | -20.1 | |
| October | 129.5 | 1.1 | 133.0 | -2.0 | 110.2 | +0.0 | 113.5 | -12.1 | |
| November | 132.2 | 2.0 | 140.1 | -3.8 | 111.4 | 1.0 | 116.6 | -12.6 | |
| December | 127.4 | -3.6 | 114.2 | -9.0 | 106.3 | -4.5 | 98.1 | -14.6 | |
2024 | January | 132.1 | 3.7 | 129.4 | 0.4 | 107.9 | 1.5 | 108.3 | -8.4 |
| February | 131.9 | -0.2 | 132.6 | 0.4 | 109.5 | 1.5 | 108.8 | -4.2 | |
| March | 131.5 | -0.3 | 135.7 | -10.6 | 110.0 | 0.5 | 112.9 | -11.8 | |
| April | 133.9 | 1.8 | 138.8 | 15.4 | 112.9 | 2.6 | 115.9 | 9.1 | |
| May | 130.3 | -2.7 | 128.1 | -3.5 | 106.8 | -5.3 | 106.4 | -10.5 | |
| June | 127.4 | -2.2 | 128.4 | -8.5 | 107.5 | 0.6 | 107.2 | -9.3 | |
| July | 128.8 | 1.1 | 133.6 | 5.0 | 111.6 | 3.8 | 113.9 | 3.4 | |
| August | 130.7 | 1.5 | 120.5 | -3.0 | 109.9 | -1.6 | 102.5 | -2.4 | |
| September | 128.3 | -1.8 | 130.2 | -0.0 | 110.7 | 0.7 | 111.3 | 0.4 | |
| October | 125.1 | -2.4 | 132.7 | -0.2 | 111.8 | 1.0 | 118.1 | 4.0 | |
| November | 128.0 | 2.3 | 131.4 | -6.2 | 108.8 | -2.7 | 111.0 | -4.8 | |
| December | 131.7 | 2.9 | 113.9 | -0.2 | 111.1 | 2.1 | 99.9 | 1.9 | |
More information:
More calendar and seasonally adjusted results of foreign trade statistics are available in the GENESIS-Online database (Tables 51000-0020 and 51000-0021). First detailed provisional results on a nominal basis by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics are available for download. Full detailed results for reference month December 2024 will be provided in GENESIS-Online (Tables 51000) as of 19 February 2025.
Foreign trade results are also available on the Economic Dashboard, which is part of Dashboard Germany www.dashboard-deutschland.de (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
Important information regarding the GENESIS-Online database:
Our database's new user interface has been available as the main interface version since November 2024. The old interface can still be used to retrieve data for large tables as this is not yet possible in the new version.
