The Pandemic Pushes Germany’s Deficit to Its Highest Level in 30 Years

The German Statistics Office said that the country’s public sector deficit amounted to 189.2 billion euros in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the first deficit since 2013 and the highest in the budget since the reunification of Germany thirty years ago.

The pandemic, which killed more than 77,000 in Germany, ravaged the largest economy in Europe, although the economy proved to be more robust than many expected, partly because of the continued strong demand for exports from China.

The statistics office said public spending increased 12.1% to 1.7 billion euros, as the government is doing its best to offset the impact of months of lockdown, while tax revenues fell 3.5% to 1.5 trillion euros.