Germany has become the world’s third-largest economy despite facing a number of financial woes in recent months.
The country leapfrogged Japan which saw its economy contract in the last quarter of 2023 leading to it falling behind the Europeans into fourth.
Changes come despite market analysts saying Germany had seen weak economic activity during the early stages of 2024 with January figures hitting lows not seen since the pandemic.
The country now sits three places above the UK in the rankings, which is in sixth behind the US, China, Germany, Japan and India, after it hurtled into recession today.
Experts say the UK economy paints a grim picture after GDP was estimated to have fallen 0.3pc in the fourth quarter of 2023, from October to December, after a 0.1pc fall in the previous quarter.
Japan’s government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4pc in October to December, according to cabinet office data on real GDP, though it grew 1.9pc for all of 2023.
The Japanese economy contracted 2.9pc in July-September. Two straight quarters of contraction are considered an indicator an economy is in a technical recession.
It was the second largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by China.
Japan’s nominal GDP totalled $4.2 trillion last year, while Germany’s was $4.4 trillion, or $4.5 trillion, depending on the currency conversion.
Experts say a weak Yen was the reason for Japan’s slump along with a declining population and lagging productivity and competitiveness.
While Germany’s struggles were blamed on labour shortages and stagnating export and import dynamics.
Market analyst, Piero Cingari told Euronews: “Germany’s economic sentiment indicators remain disconcerting, with January figures hitting lows not seen since the COVID-19 crisis, suggesting weak economic activity for the first half of 2024.
“On a more optimistic note, market financing conditions have eased recently, with expectations of continued relief facilitated by more accessible bank lending.”
