Electronics & Microtechnology
Germany Plays Leading Role in Chip Production
A new report names Germany as a key global producer, especially for optical semiconductors and equipment.
Feb 17, 2025
The report was authored by the think-tanks Ifo Institute and EconPol Europe and presented at the Munich Security Conference.
The study found the chip market in general is still dominated by South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and China. They produce more than half of all the chips bought and sold worldwide.
But the United States, Japan and Germany are all key producers of power and optical semiconductors as well as sensors.
Germany, Japan, the United States and the Netherlands are also responsible for a large part of the equipment used in chipmaking. If that source of income is included in calculations, Germany exports more than imports in the semiconductor sector.
“The global semiconductor value chain is geographically rather fragmented,” the report stated. “While Korea, Taiwan, and China stand out as the key exporters of final chips, the US and Japan, but also Germany and the Netherlands, stand out as net exporters of chip-related equipment. Due to this global fragmentation, multilateral dependencies arise.”
