Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany

Germany: Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita was 64.0% in 1991. ▲ Rising

Latest (1991)
64.0%
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
21st
of 44 countries
All-time high
64.0%
in 1991
All-time low
52.1%
in 1955
Years of data
42
1950–1991

Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany, 1950–1991

02040601950197019911950: 56.6 %1951: 55.1 %1952: 54.6 %1953: 53.6 %1954: 53.2 %1955: 52.1 %1956: 52.3 %1957: 53.1 %1958: 53.3 %1959: 52.9 %1960: 52.3 %1961: 52.4 %1962: 52.4 %1963: 52.9 %1964: 52.2 %1965: 52.1 %1966: 52.6 %1967: 54 %1968: 53.5 %1969: 52.9 %1970: 52.8 %1971: 53.9 %1972: 54.7 %1973: 54.8 %1974: 55.8 %1975: 57.5 %1976: 57.3 %1977: 57.6 %1978: 58.6 %1979: 58.6 %1980: 59.1 %1981: 60.1 %1982: 60.6 %1983: 61 %1984: 61 %1985: 61.1 %1986: 61.9 %1987: 63.1 %1988: 63.1 %1989: 62.7 %1990: 63.2 %1991: 64 %

Source: Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 1991, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Germany stood at 64.0%. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Germany peaked at 64.0% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 52.1%, in 1955.

Germany ranks 21st of 44 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany, 1950 to 1991.
Year % Change
1950 56.6%
1951 55.1% -2.7%
1952 54.6% -0.9%
1953 53.6% -1.8%
1954 53.2% -0.7%
1955 52.1% -2.1%
1956 52.3% +0.4%
1957 53.1% +1.5%
1958 53.3% +0.4%
1959 52.9% -0.8%
1960 52.3% -1.1%
1961 52.4% +0.2%
1962 52.4% +0.0%
1963 52.9% +1.0%
1964 52.2% -1.3%
1965 52.1% -0.2%
1966 52.6% +1.0%
1967 54.0% +2.7%
1968 53.5% -0.9%
1969 52.9% -1.1%
1970 52.8% -0.2%
1971 53.9% +2.1%
1972 54.7% +1.5%
1973 54.8% +0.2%
1974 55.8% +1.8%
1975 57.5% +3.0%
1976 57.3% -0.3%
1977 57.6% +0.5%
1978 58.6% +1.7%
1979 58.6% +0.0%
1980 59.1% +0.9%
1981 60.1% +1.7%
1982 60.6% +0.8%
1983 61.0% +0.7%
1984 61.0% +0.0%
1985 61.1% +0.2%
1986 61.9% +1.3%
1987 63.1% +1.9%
1988 63.1% +0.0%
1989 62.7% -0.6%
1990 63.2% +0.8%
1991 64.0% +1.3%

Germany compared with similar countries

  • Germany's 64.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 72.1%, 89% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
  • Germany's 64.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.5%, 86% of the median. (10 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 53.7% 52.1% 56.6% 10
1960s 52.7% 52.1% 54.0% 10
1970s 56.2% 52.8% 58.6% 10
1980s 61.4% 59.1% 63.1% 10
1990s 63.6% 63.2% 64.0% 2

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 18 South Korea 66.9% compare
  2. 19 Brazil 64.2% compare
  3. 20 Mauritius 64.1% compare
  4. 22 South Africa 62.6% compare
  5. 23 Colombia 61.0% compare
  6. 24 Malaysia 60.6% compare

See the full ranking of 44 places →

More work & labour data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Germany?
Share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Germany was 64.0% in 1991, according to Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 64.0% in 1991.
What is the lowest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 52.1% in 1955.
How does Germany rank for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita?
Germany ranks 21st out of 44 countries with data for 1991.
Is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/gdp-vs-services-employment/germany/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/gdp-vs-services-employment/germany/">Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Germany</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
44 places, 2,481 data points, 1801–2015
Last refreshed

The vertical axis shows historical estimates of the employment share in the service sector. The horizontal axis shows GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.