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BUSINESS & INNOVATION
Korea and Japan invested more in R&D.
30 million people in gainful employment,
Germany is considered to be Europe’s
12 million work for public or private service
champion inventor. In 2014 German com-
providers, almost 10 million in retailing,
panies filed around 32,000 applications for
hospitality and transportation, and more
patent protection to the European Patent
than five million for corporate service pro-
Office in Munich. The same year, 65,958 in-
viders.
ventions were registered with the German
Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) – a
Small and medium-sized enterprises –
new record. The automotive supplier Bosch,
the heart of the economy
with 4,000 registrations, and the Schaeffler
Group (2,518), which likewise operates in
Despite the numerous global players and
the automotive components sector, were
large flagship businesses, the German
the most prolific. In total there were exactly
economy is characterised by 3.6 million
116,702 German patents in force in 2014.
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
Moreover, 458,042 industrial property rights
as well as countless self-employed persons
applicable to Germany were granted, the ap-
and freelancers. The SME segment includes
plications for which were processed by the
around 99.6 percent of companies. SMEs
European Patent Office.
are defined as firms with annual sales of
less than 50 million euros and fewer than
Today, it is hard to imagine Germany as an
500
industrial centre without its services econ-
founded by entrepreneurially minded mi-
omy, which has long been on a constant
grants now also enjoy SME status. More
growth curve. A good 80 percent of all com-
than 700,000 people with a migrant back-
panies operate in this sector, accounting for
ground own a company. As such, migrants
almost 70 percent of gross domestic prod-
in Germany are an important economic
uct, and three quarters of all jobs. Of around
factor.
employees.
Numerous
companies
MILESTONES
1955
1969
1989
On 5 August the one millionth
VW Beetle leaves the assembly
line in Wolfsburg. An absolute
top seller, the car becomes a
symbol of what went down in
history as the Economic Miracle.
In Toulouse (France) the Airbus
consortium is founded as a
Franco-German joint venture.
Today, Airbus S.A.S. is the world’s
second-largest aircraft
manufacturer.
Postal Reform I marks the beginning of the privatisation of the
giant publicly-owned corporation
that is Deutsche Bundespost.
The privatisation is regarded as
one of the biggest reforms in
German economic history.