German growth hits record high
A rebound in exports was accompanied by strengthening domestic demand, official data yesterday revealed.
The preliminary growth figure for Europe's biggest economy contrasted with a painful contraction of 4.7 per cent in 2009, which was by far its worst showing since the Second World War.
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Hide AdLast year's growth rate was the strongest since East and West Germany were unified in 1990, beating the previous best of 3.4 per cent from 2006.
A key trigger for the strong recovery was powerful growth in exports into a recovering world economy. Exports grew by 14.2 per cent last year, reversing a decline of 14.3 per cent in 2009, the Federal Statistical Office said.