all projects

Industries in the pandemic

Industries during the pandemic: The pharmaceutical industry is crisis-resistant

Client

Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA)

Year

2021


The industry is making an important contribution to ensuring that value added and jobs in Germany are safeguarded even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, pharmaceutical products accounted for 6% of Germany's most important exports. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the figure for the second quarter of 2020, which was particularly affected by the crisis, increased by 7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the third quarter of 2020, the pharmaceutical industry's export activity was also slightly above the level of the previous year's quarter, while total exports from Germany were significantly lower. Similar effects can also be found in the other European BIG-5 countries analysed (France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom)

A stable industry – before and during the crisis

The industry's extraordinary crisis resilience was not only visible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Already during the global economic and financial crisis of 2009, the export values of pharmaceutical products remained extremely stable. In the following years, the German pharmaceutical industry experienced extraordinarily dynamic growth: Between 2008 and 2019, exports of pharmaceutical products increased by almost 90% to over 80 billion euros. In 2019, the industry was able to make a significant contribution to Germany's positive trade balance with an export surplus of about 25 billion euros. Thereby exports of pharmaceutical products have a significant stabilising effect on economic development in Germany.

Leading role of the German pharmaceutical industry

With a world export share of 15% in 2019, Germany was one of the world's leading exporters of pharmaceutical products. This means that the German pharmaceutical industry has a leading international role in terms of export volumes.

Further information and the study, vfa website (in German)

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Markus Hoch

Senior Project Manager

View profile

Our work on this topic

Take a look at our latest projects and activities.

Where does Germany's economy really stand?

2023
| News

Why it’s time for Germany to take an honest look at itself. A guest commentary in the WirtschaftsWoche by Dr Michael Böhmer.

Pension at 63 – Quo vadis?

2023
| Project

Retiring at 63 is very popular. In 2021 alone, more than 270,000 people took the option of early retirement. These were the findings of our study for the INSM.

Just Transition Platform Conference: Carbon-Intensive Regions

| Event

Stakeholders of the European chemical industry exchange on their activities for a just transition towards climate neutrality.

Ecological transformation and the labour market in Schleswig-Holstein

ongoing
| Project

How many specialists will Schleswig-Holstein need to implement its climate protection measures? What are the key professions necessary for successful implementation?

Just Transition Platform: Meeting of the Working Group on Chemicals

| Event

At the meeting of the JTP Working Group on Chemicals, proposals will be discussed to help EU regions with a strong chemical industry make a just transition to climate neutrality.

No generational conflict: Young and old are primarily looking for security.

2022
| Project

Study compares “boomers” and Generation Z: high need for security for young and old alike.

The importance of the German economy for the EU

2022
| Project

Through intensive trade relations with EU states, the German economy is an important driver of economic development in the EU.

Just Transition Platform Meeting: Coal Regions in Transition

| Event

Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer speaks at the fifth Just Transition Platform Meeting.

Support of the Just Transition Platform to the Green Deal

ongoing
| Project

Through the Just Transition Platform, the EU supports countries in achieving their climate goals. Prognos helps manage this platform with analytics and knowledge management.

Das Bildungsgrundeinkommen – ein Instrument der Weiterbildungsfinanzierung

2021
| Project

Das Zentrum Liberale Moderne macht einen Vorschlag, die Weiterbildungsfinanzierung auf neue Grundlagen zu stellen. Prognos hat die Kosten des neuen Instrumentes in einer Studie abgeschätzt.

Jobs in the building sector can cushion pandemic job losses

2021
| Project

The study shows how the high demand for skilled workers in the building sector can mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on the labour market. The industry is thus contributing to the stabilisation of the labour market and to the success of the energy transition.

Work Landscape 2025

2019
| Project

The "Labor Landscape" study series has been providing an overview of the development of labor demand and labor supply in Germany since 2008.

Digital transformation in the workplace of the European Chemicals Sector

2019
| Project

As part of a social partnership project for the ECEG and industriAll European Trade Union, the study examines the effects of innovation and digital transformation on the workplace in the chemical industry on a Europe-wide scale.

Germany Report 2025|2035|2045

2018
| Project

Germany will become more global, more digital, greener and older in the next 30 years. This is shown by Prognos Deutschland Report from 2018/2019.

Attracting and retaining skilled workers in early education

2018
| Project

By the year 2030 there will be a shortage of around 199,000 educators throughout Germany. This is shown by a Prognos study for the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs.

Strategies to combat the skilled-worker shortage in nursing care

2018
| Project

Which strategies can be used to tackle the shortage of skilled workers in nursing care for the elderly? This question is the subject of a Prognos study commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.