Munich as a business hub – key data

Munich and the surrounding area are one of Europe's most dynamic business regions. The city's enviable geographic location combines with optimal conditions for the corporate sector. And both factors are ideally complemented by an unrivaled array of leisure and recreation facilities. All of which makes Munich one of the foremost business hubs in both Germany and Europe.
 

• Population
• Economic strength 
• Employment 
• Purchasing power 
• Real estate market 

 

Population

Some 1.4 million people live in Munich, representing more than 180 nations. At 23 percent, the immigrant population is higher than the national average - as in all of Europe's flourishing cities. More than 40 percent of the city's resident foreigners are European Union nationals. Other than the overall forecast for Germany as a whole, Munich's population figure is predicted to increase significantly. Due to a rising birth rate as well as the influx of mostly young, well-educated adults, the population is about to rise by another 11 percent within the two upcoming decades. This would mean a total of about 1.5 million citizens by 2030.
 

Economic strength

Munich and the surrounding region form the focal point of business activity in the Free State of Bavaria. 21 percent of the Bavarian population lives in the Munich region, where it generates 30 percent of Bavaria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2009, this figure totaled just over € 70 billion for Munich itself and € 125 billion for the region as a whole. The service sector is the region's dominant industry, accounting for some 75 percent of Munich's GDP. The manufacturing industry contributes 25 percent to Munich's GDP.
 

Employment

In Munich, Germany's second largest employment hub, a total of just under 954.000 people hold employment subject to statutory social insurance. Looking at the region as a whole, employment presently includes 1.6 million. Until 2025, an additional 112,000 employees are expected to move to the Munich region and add another 7 percent to the current employment numbers. For the city of Munich, this would mean an increase of 4.1 percent - in numbers 39,400 - in additional working persons, adding up to an overall working population of 993,000 – close to 1 million – in 2025.

Munich's unemployment rate has been the lowest for years compared to Germany's other major cities. In absolute terms, in 2010 this meant the average jobless number for the Munich Employment Agency's catchment area of 56,900 persons. In 2010, Munich's unemployment rate went down to 4.7 percent, from 5.0 percent in 2009.
 
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Purchasing power

Munich continues to boast the highest purchasing power of all German cities. Purchasing power in the Bavarian capital is 30 percent above the national average and considerably higher than the figure for all other German cities. In 2010, average purchasing power per capita was € 24,900. Moreover, Munich is also surrounded by three of the five administrative districts with the highest purchasing power in Germany (Starnberg, Ebersberg and the Munich district).
 

Real estate market

Office property market
599,000 m2 changed hands on Munich's office property market in 2010, up 11 percent year on year. With this positive development, Munich remains well ahead of all Germany's major office property venues. Frankfurt/Main follows at a distance with currently 516,000 m2, followed by Berlin with 512,000 m2. At 7.9 percent, Munich's vacancy rate modestly rose over the previous two years. Within the overall market that meant vacancy space of roughly 1.81 m2. The figure for the core city with considerably less space available and high demand is below 4 percent. Average office rents modestly declined from € 16.90/m2 to €16.80/m2.
 
Housing market
The Munich housing market follows a roughly ten-year cycle. The last round of rent increases came in 2001/2002. Rents edged down in the years that followed but have been on the rise again since 2006. This pattern explains why again in 2010 first-time rents rebounded, albeit modestly, to €13.20/m2.
 
(Data 9.2011)
 
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More information

• Munich Means Business – Facts and Figures 2012 
• Munich's Annual Business Report 2011 (PDF file, in german)
• Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)
• Munich Fact Sheet (pdf)
• M-Statistics: Business and the Labor Market

 

Contact

Department of Labor and Economic Development
General Economic and Employment Issues
Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 15
80331 München
Email: eva.schweigard@muenchen.de