Foreword 7,Germany as a business location 9, 1. Germany as an international competitor 11,1.1 the location 11,1.2 location quality and international competitiveness 17,2. Overall economic survey 26, 2.1 Population,employment,labour market 26, 2.2 gross domestic product and economic growth 34, 2.2.1 gross value added by economic sectors 37, 2.2.2 gross domestic product by expenditure groups 41,2.2.3 income 45.