IWH Institute: East German economy growing more slowly than in the West in 2026
Foreign demand is driving Germany's recovery - but little of it is reaching the East. While Germany as a whole grows by 1.3 percent in 2026, the East only reaches 0.9 percent.
The Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH) predicts that Germany's eastern economy will grow more slowly than the western economy in 2026. According to the institute, the economic recovery in Germany is largely driven by higher foreign demand, which benefits the eastern economy to some extent but to a lesser degree. In the first half of 2026, Germany's production increased by 0.9% compared to the previous year, while the eastern region's growth was only 0.5%. In Berlin, growth was 0.9%, while it was 1.4% in Brandenburg and 0.6% in Saxony-Anhalt.
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