German economy to grow faster in 2011 than expected

The German economy would grow faster this year than initially thought, latest forecasts from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology suggested.

In its Annual Economic Report 2011 released on Wednesday, the ministry said the gross domestic product, or GDP, is likely to rise 2.3% this year, faster than the 1.8% growth it had predicted in October, RTTNews reports.

"2011 will be a good year, too," said Rainer Brüderle in Berlin as he presented the latest numbers.

If the forecast holds, it would represent a reduction in the growth of the German economy compared to 2010. But last year was a banner year for Germany as it pulled itself out of the global recession. Figures released last week showed that Germany's economy expanded by 3.6 percent in 2010, the fastest pace since reunification twenty years ago.

The prediction for 2011 would also indicate the German economy had returned to its pre-recession levels.

The government says it also expects that unemployment will sink to 7 percent compared to 7.7 percent last year. That would mean fewer than 3 million unemployed people in Germany, Deutsche Welle informs.