Press release No. 042 of 6 February 2026
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods):
December 2025
133.3 billion euros
+4.0% on the previous month
+2.7% on the same month a year earlier
2025
1,569.6 billion euros
+1.0% on the previous year
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods):
December 2025
116.2 billion euros
+1.4% on the previous month
+5.6% on the same month a year earlier
2025
1,366.9 billion euros
+4.4% on the previous year
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted):
December 2025
17.1 billion euros
2025
202.8 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In December 2025, German exports were up 4.0% and imports rose by 1.4% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with November 2025. Compared with December 2024, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) further reports that exports increased by 2.7% and imports rose by 5.6%, based on provisional data. Compared with the previous year, exports in 2025 were up 1.0% after calendar and seasonal adjustment, and imports increased by 4.4%.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the value of 133.3 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 116.2 billion euros in December 2025. The foreign trade balance thus showed a surplus of 17.1 billion euros in December 2025. The calendar and seasonally adjusted foreign trade balance stood at +13.6 billion euros in November 2025. In December 2024, the balance was +19.8 billion euros.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 75.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in December 2025, while it imported goods to the value of 59.4 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with November 2025, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries rose by 3.1% and imports from these countries increased by 1.7%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 52.7 billion euros (+3.6%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 39.5 billion euros (+1.6%). Goods to the value of 22.6 billion euros (+2.1%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from those countries was 19.9 billion euros (+1.8%).
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 58.0 billion euros in December 2025, while imports from those countries totalled 56.8 billion euros on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with November 2025, exports to third countries increased by 5.0% and imports from those countries rose by 1.2%.
Most German exports in December 2025 went to the United States, with goods exports totalling 11.8 billion euros after seasonal and calendar adjustment. This represented an increase of 8.9% on November 2025. Compared with December 2024, exports to the United States were down 12.9% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. In December 2025, exports to the People’s Republic of China rose by 10.7% to 7.2 billion euros compared with November 2025. Month on month, exports to the United Kingdom increased by 14.6% to 6.9 billion euros.
Most imports came from the People's Republic of China in December 2025. Goods to the value of 15.5 billion euros were imported from there, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 4.1% compared with the previous month. In December 2025, imports from the United States rose 3.0% month on month to 7.9 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom fell by 14.8% to 2.9 billion euros during the same period.
After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports to the Russian Federation increased by 1.8% to 0.6 billion euros in December 2025 from November 2025. Compared with December 2024, they were up 0.2%. Imports from Russia rose by 6.0% to 0.1 billion euros in December 2025 compared with November 2025 and were down 7.6% from December 2024.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 118.6 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 105.0 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in December 2025. Compared with December 2024, exports were therefore up 6.0% and imports rose by 8.4%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 13.6 billion euros in December 2025. In December 2024, the surplus was 15.0 billion euros.
Foreign trade results (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) for 2025
Germany exported goods to the value of 1,562.9 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 1,362.5 billion euros in 2025. Exports therefore increased by 0.9% and imports by 4.3% compared with 2024. The foreign trade balance showed an export surplus of 200.4 billion euros in 2025. In 2024, the surplus was 242.9 billion euros. With a foreign trade turnover (exports + imports) of 251.8 billion euros, the People's Republic of China was Germany's most important trading partner in 2025, ahead of the United States with a foreign trade turnover of 240.5 billion euros. In 2024, the United States was ranked higher than China among Germany's top trading partners.
Methodological notes:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects.
Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the "Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel" methodological paper (only in German). Calendar and seasonally adjusted values are always notional calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series would serve little purpose.
The results in this press release are provisional data from monthly foreign trade statistics. As detailed results are not available this early, it is not possible to provide information on the reasons for changes in foreign trade as a whole or in trade with individual countries or groups of countries.
| Item | December 2025 | January to December 2025 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | January to December 2024 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 133.3 | 1,569.6 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 75.3 | 876.5 | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| Euro area | 52.7 | 609.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Non-euro area | 22.6 | 266.9 | 2.1 | 4.4 |
| Third countries | 58.0 | 693.2 | 5.0 | -2.7 |
| including: | ||||
| United States | 11.8 | 146.9 | 8.9 | -9.3 |
| China | 7.2 | 81.8 | 10.7 | -9.3 |
| United Kingdom | 6.9 | 80.2 | 14.6 | -0.4 |
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 6.9 | 1.8 | -8.5 |
| Total imports | 116.2 | 1,366.9 | 1.4 | 4.4 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 59.4 | 703.1 | 1.7 | 3.4 |
| Euro area | 39.5 | 464.5 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
| Non-euro area | 19.9 | 238.6 | 1.8 | 4.5 |
| Third countries | 56.8 | 663.7 | 1.2 | 5.6 |
| including: | ||||
| United States | 7.9 | 94.7 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| China | 15.5 | 171.2 | 4.1 | 9.0 |
| United Kingdom | 2.9 | 38.6 | -14.8 | 6.5 |
| Russian Federation | 0.1 | 1.3 | 6 | -30.4 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| in billion euros | change on previous month, % | in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | in billion euros | change on previous month, % | in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | ||
2024 | January | 129.8 | 1.5 | 126.8 | -1.7 | 104.6 | -3.7 | 104.4 | -11.7 |
| February | 131.0 | 1.0 | 132.2 | 0.1 | 109.3 | 4.5 | 108.3 | -4.5 | |
| March | 129.8 | -0.9 | 134.3 | -11.5 | 110.2 | 0.9 | 112.5 | -12.1 | |
| April | 134.2 | 3.4 | 138.8 | 15.3 | 112.1 | 1.7 | 115.1 | 8.3 | |
| May | 129.1 | -3.8 | 126.7 | -4.6 | 107.1 | -4.5 | 105.9 | -10.9 | |
| June | 127.1 | -1.6 | 128.5 | -8.5 | 106.2 | -0.9 | 106.6 | -9.8 | |
| July | 128.4 | 1.1 | 133.2 | 4.7 | 109.3 | 3.0 | 112.9 | 2.4 | |
| August | 130.6 | 1.6 | 120.3 | -3.2 | 108.7 | -0.6 | 101.9 | -3.1 | |
| September | 128.6 | -1.5 | 130.5 | 0.3 | 110.6 | 1.8 | 111.8 | 0.9 | |
| October | 126.0 | -2.0 | 133.6 | 0.5 | 111.4 | 0.7 | 118.5 | 4.4 | |
| November | 129.2 | 2.5 | 132.9 | -5.1 | 109.1 | -2.0 | 112.1 | -3.8 | |
| December | 129.8 | 0.5 | 111.9 | -2.0 | 110.0 | 0.8 | 96.8 | -1.3 | |
2025 | January | 129.7 | -0.0 | 125.1 | -1.3 | 113.8 | 3.5 | 112.3 | 7.6 |
| February | 131.2 | 1.1 | 129.9 | -1.7 | 113.7 | -0.1 | 111.0 | 2.5 | |
| March | 133.1 | 1.5 | 140.6 | 4.7 | 113.3 | -0.4 | 117.4 | 4.4 | |
| April | 131.7 | -1.1 | 131.8 | -5.0 | 115.0 | 1.5 | 115.2 | 0.1 | |
| May | 129.9 | -1.4 | 130.4 | 2.9 | 111.2 | -3.3 | 111.9 | 5.7 | |
| June | 130.6 | 0.5 | 129.0 | 0.4 | 114.3 | 2.8 | 112.6 | 5.6 | |
| July | 130.2 | -0.3 | 134.9 | 1.3 | 113.6 | -0.7 | 117.4 | 4.0 | |
| August | 129.2 | -0.8 | 115.2 | -4.2 | 112.0 | -1.4 | 102.4 | 0.5 | |
| September | 131.1 | 1.5 | 137.4 | 5.3 | 115.5 | 3.1 | 119.8 | 7.1 | |
| October | 131.5 | 0.3 | 139.3 | 4.3 | 113.8 | -1.5 | 121.1 | 2.2 | |
| November | 128.2 | -2.5 | 130.8 | -1.6 | 114.6 | 0.7 | 116.5 | 3.9 | |
| December | 133.3 | 4.0 | 118.6 | 6.0 | 116.2 | 1.4 | 105.0 | 8.4 | |
More information:
More calendar and seasonally adjusted results of foreign trade statistics are available in the GENESIS-Online database (Tables 51000-0020 and 51000-0021). First detailed provisional results on a nominal basis by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics are available for download. Full detailed results for 2025 and for reference month December 2025 will be provided in GENESIS-Online (Tables 51000) as of 20 February 2026.
Foreign trade results can also be found on the Economic Dashboard, which is part of Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de) (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.