Why Hamburg
A Prime Location for Business
Economically, Hamburg is the most successful German federal state. It has occupied the top spot in the Bertelsmann Foundation’s state ranking since 2001, mainly due to above-average economic growth. Hamburg not only achieves the nation’s highest gross domestic product (GDP) at € 50,000 per capita, but also has the highest employment rate: 88 percent of the working-age population are gainfully employed.
This development is set to continue into the future. The motto "Hamburg - Responsible Growth" underscores the city’s strategic objective: to sustain the stream of qualified and creative people moving to Hamburg from other parts of Germany and abroad.
In a 2009 federal state ranking published by WirtschaftsWoche and the Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft, Hamburg tops the list for all of the following indicators:
- Hamburg has a gross domestic product, or annual economic output per capita, of € 50,640 (2008), the highest in Germany. The national average is € 30,343.
- Disposable income per head of the population in Hamburg was € 24,371 in 2008, whilst the national average was € 19,162.
- A state’s taxing capacity is an indicator of its economic power. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg shows a figure of € 4,923 per capita, the German average is € 2,401.
