Chemicals and pharmaceuticals

With revenues of €184.2 billion in 2011, the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry is by far the largest European chemical and pharmaceutical industry as well as being the fourth-largest worldwide, according to data provided by the German chemical industry association VCI. Revenues from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry constitute nearly 11 percent of the total revenues in Germany’s processing industries. Furthermore, with a market share of over 11 percent, Germany was the world’s largest exporter of chemical products in 2011. The country exported chemical products with a total value of €150 billion.  

According to VCI, over 90 percent of Germany’s more than 2,000 chemical companies are small and medium-sized enterprises. These companies are often based in one of the country’s numerous chemical parks. The outstanding infrastructure, combined with an interconnected system of raw materials and energy, enables companies based in these parks to remain competitive in their production.  

Some 429,000 workers are employed in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Many of them are graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. According to figures from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), 126 out of every 1,000 employees in the industry are graduates in these four key fields, which are in particular demand in Germany.