The digital economy in Germany will once again grow significantly this year and exceed the 200 billion euro mark in annual turnover for the first time. This is according to an economic forecast for 2023 published by the digital association Bitkom in Berlin on Tuesday. According to the calculations, the German market for information technology (IT), telecommunications and consumer electronics is expected to grow by 3.8% to 203.4 billion euros.

Inflation, which drives up sales in industries such as the energy sector, hardly plays a role in the digital economy, said Bitkom President Achim Berg. In the ICT sector, prices have remained largely stable and have even fallen in some cases. Following Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Bitkom-Ifo Digital Index, which reflects the business climate in the sector, did slump. However, the index had recovered by the end of the year.

"Digitalization is the answer to the multiple crises of our time," said Berg. Digitalization makes an economy more resilient, helps with global challenges such as climate protection and makes people's lives easier.

The growth of the digital economy is also reflected in the number of employees. According to the Bitkom forecast, a good 1.35 million people will be working in this economic segment by the end of 2023, 3.4% more than in the previous year.

The biggest growth within the sector will be in information technology. According to the current forecast, IT will generate sales of 126.4 billion euros in 2023, 6.3% more than in the previous year. Software sales in particular are set to skyrocket. Here, the association expects an increase of 9.3% to 38.8 billion euros. The hardware segment is expected to grow by 5.3% to 39.7 billion euros, driven in part by rising spending on wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, which are expected to increase by 15.3% to 3.4 billion euros. By contrast, sales of traditional personal computers shrank slightly because companies in particular stocked up on new devices during the coronavirus crisis and demand is saturated.

Suppliers of consumer electronics are facing the greatest challenges within the digital economy. Bitkom expects a drop of 7.3% here, partly because televisions are less in demand. "High inflation and economic uncertainty are hitting the consumer electronics business particularly hard," said Berg. "Many people are keeping their money together and are foregoing major purchases in this area in particular."