Business Cycles & Markets

The Asia-Pacific region is an extremely important market for the German electro and digital industry. In addition to China—the world’s largest national market for goods from the electro and digital industry—there are other significant markets in the region. These include, for example, Japan, South Korea, India, and Taiwan, as well as countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Australia.

The global market for goods of the electro and digital industry is approaching the six trillion Euro mark. This is according to the latest model calculations by the ZVEI, which indicate that the global electro market will reach a value of €5,974bn in 2025. Following a 5% increase last year, ZVEI expects nominal market growth of 7% for the current year. Next year, growth is projected to exceed the long-term average (of 5% per year since 1995) as well, advancing by 6%.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s electro exports have risen sharply, while imports have declined. Export growth has shifted primarily to emerging markets; in Western industrialized nations, it has been more moderate. The causes include increased competitiveness, weak domestic demand in China, and government-supported overcapacity. For Germany, electro imports from China rose significantly, with the trade deficit reaching its second highest value in 2025. Although there is no clear evidence of trade diversion or a flood of imports in the overall picture, there are indeed striking increases in the value and volume of electro exports from China to Germany in certain sectors.

Germany’s electro and digital industry is deeply intertwined with the EU Single Market. This applies to its own exports, supplier relationships, and foreign production sites alike. Following the eastern enlargement of the European Union, which marked the most recent major step in European integration, ties with Central and Eastern Europe intensified significantly. Overall, the evidence shows that Germany’s electro and digital industry, and its domestic production in particular, has benefited considerably from this development.

South Korea is one of the world’s leading industrialized nations and, ahead of Germany, the fourth-largest electro and digital market in the world. South Korea’s electro industry stands to benefit from several economic trends, but it also competes directly with its major rival, China. Although German electro exports to South Korea declined last year, the country remains a key supplier of the German electro and digital industry, particularly in the semiconductor sector.

India is the most populous country in the world, the sixth-largest economy and also the sixth-largest electro market. India's market for electrical and electronic goods is also growing dynamically, as evidenced by the nine-fold increase in German exports to the country since 2000. Even if India has not yet reached the importance of its neighbor China, geopolitical developments and high growth rates are promoting India's economic rise and its role as an important trading partner for the German electro and digital industry.

The annual fact sheet summarizes the most important data and forecasts for the global Electro and Digital Industry.