Pandemic drives Germany to highest deficit in 30 years - statistics office

Germany's public sector deficit reached 189.2 billion euros in 2020 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the first deficit since 2013, and the highest budget shortfall since German reunification three decades ago, the Statistics Office said.

The pandemic, which has so far claimed more than 77,000 lives in Germany, has devastated Europe's largest economy, even though it has proven more resilient than many expected, partly because of continuing strong export demand from China.

Public spending rose 12.1% to 1.7 trillion euros as the government pulled out all the stops to offset the impact of months of lockdown, while tax take fell 3.5% to 1.5 trillion euros, the statistics office said.