The objective of Bavaria's economic policy is to promote sustainable economic growth within the state. The maintenance of existing facilities and active modernization ensure a competitive and future-oriented economic structure in industry, the skilled trades and the retail and service sectors.

Bavaria has played a major role in the initiation and expansion of German economic relations with countries in Central and Eastern Europe and established itself as a hub between east and west. Thanks to EU expansion, Bavaria has shifted to the heart of a European economic region with 455 million consumers.

Additional information about Bavaria as a business location is available at the websites of the Bavarian State Ministry for the Economy, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology.

For the second time, WirtschaftsWoche magazine and INSM (New Social Market Economy Initiative) have released the latest comprehensive study comparing the 16 German states. 

The empirical study focused on economic development and changing political conditions in each state. The study revolved around the question of which state has experienced the most dynamic economic growth during the past few years.

According to the study, the State of Bavaria's strengths include:

• Population: The number of people living in Bavaria increased by one percent during the period surveyed.
• Gross domestic product: Economic performance improved by 0.8 percent during the period in question. 
• Location benefits: Bavaria is a leader when it comes to employment growth.

Study comparing German states: The "Profil Bayern" portion of the study from September 2004 can be downloaded here in PDF format (German only, PDF 318 KB) 

Munich in an international comparison

The Bavarian capital has moved up from 10th to 8th place on the scale of favorite European business locations. That was revealed by a survey of 500 leading European managers conducted by the international consulting company for commercial real estate, Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker (C&W/H&B).

Cities were ranked taking twelve criteria into account such as market access, transportation infrastructure and the availability of a qualified workforce. Once again the first three places went to London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Munich compared to other German cities

What is the most successful city economically?
Which city enjoys the most favorable location?
Which city has the best business and social structure? 
These and other questions were answered by a recent study conducted for the second time by INSM (New Social Market Economy Initiative) and WirtschaftsWoche magazine in which people were asked to rank various cities according to certain criteria.   

Of the 50 major cities in contention, once again Munich was voted the most successful city in Germany. The Bavarian capital took first place in the categories prosperity, employment and structure.

The entire survey titled "Deutsche Großstädte im Vergleich, Mai 2005" can be downloaded here in PDF format (German only, PDF 1.5 MB)