German economy shows 0.7% growth in 2012

Germany’s economy grew by 0.7% in 2012 – but it shrank in the fourth quarter, government figures showed today.

For 2012, the country’s economy grew at a faster pace than the rest of the group of 17 European Union countries that use the euro, which has been hit by a debt crisis. But the numbers were down on the previous year, when Germany’s economy grew 3%.