North Rhine-Westphalia is the number one industrial region in Germany. While mining and the steel industry used to be the main pillars of the economy, today there are hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises that make Germany's largest federal state not only a stronghold of SMEs, but also a sought-after location for companies in the green economy. This sector has an annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent. It is therefore constantly outperforming the economy as a whole. And the demand for environmental goods continues to rise. Germany is also one of the top countries in the world for patent applications: At 17.4 per cent, it is in third place behind the USA and Tokyo with 18.7 per cent each.
Crisis-proof and fast-growing
The green economy has proven to be crisis-resistant during the pandemic and despite global market uncertainties. Since 2018, it has been growing faster than the global economy as a whole.
This also applies to North Rhine-Westphalia: At an average of 2.5 per cent per year, the export rate of the green economy is higher than the growth rate of the overall export economy of 1.9 per cent per year.
Summary: The outlook for the green economy in Germany's largest federal state is quite positive. North Rhine-Westphalia can certainly compete with New York and Tokyo as a base for green economy companies.
You can read more exciting numbers and facts about the green economy in North Rhine-Westphalia here:
