The real inflow of orders in Germany’s construction main trade rose by 6.8 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, while the nominal inflow, amounting to €113.0 billion, was 9.2 percent higher than in 2024, reported the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday.
In building construction, real order inflows grew 7.5 percent and nominal inflows increased 10.1 percent, marking the first rise since 2021. Residential development, starting from a very low base, grew 10.1 percent in real terms (12.6 percent nominal), outpacing non‑residential construction, which expanded 5.8 percent real (8.4 percent nominal). Sub‑structure order inflows were 6.2 percent higher in real terms and 8.6 percent nominally than the previous record year. Large‑scale contracts across the industry-including railway track rehabilitation and the expansion of digital infrastructure-were key drivers of this new record.
In December 2025, the real order inflow for the construction main trade, seasonally adjusted, fell 4.9 percent year‑on‑year, but it was still 3.1 percent higher than in December 2024. Nominally, the growth was 7.8 percent compared with December 2024.
Year‑end revenue for the construction main trade in 2025 was 2.4 percent higher in real terms than the previous year, marking the first increase since 2020. Nominal revenue reached €120.5 billion, a new high. Building construction generated €57.4 billion in revenue (down 0.8 percent real, up 1.7 percent nominal), while sub‑structure sales grew to €61.7 billion (up 5.8 percent real, up 8.2 percent nominal).
All firms with 20 or more employees in the construction main trade are captured in the statistics. In 2025, there were about 9,500 firms-0.5 percent more than the year before. Across these firms, an average of 540,000 people were employed, 5,800 (1.1 percent) more than the previous year. Total wages totaled €26.6 billion, 5.8 percent above 2024 levels. About 612 million working hours were recorded on construction sites, a slight decline of 0.3 percent from 2024.