World's Top-Ranked Infrastructure

The excellence of Germany’s infrastructure is confirmed by a number of recent studies, including the Swiss IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook and various UNCTAD investor surveys. According to the 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Report, Germany's extensive infrastructure was singled out for special praise due to its capacity for highly efficient transportation of goods and passengers. This ranking includes high marks for the quality of roads and airports, the rail and port infrastructure, and the country’s outstanding communications and energy infrastructure.

Germany’s  logistics’ infrastructure includes not only the port of Hamburg – Europe’s second largest container port, but also Bremerhaven – Europe’s largest car port for vehicle traffic, and Duisburg – home of the continent’s largest inland port.

Together with over 250 additional inland ports, Germany’s port infrastructure facilitates the efficient delivery of goods in Europe’s largest market. The Rhine and Elbe rivers serve as major arteries for barge traffic to the deepwater ports in various river bights and along the north and northwest coastlines.

Germany has a dense network of airports, of which 23 offer international service. Frankfurt rank’s the world’s seventh and ninth largest airport in terms of cargo and passenger volume respectively. The country’s highway system has one of the greatest kilometer density levels in Europe and the 37,900 km of railway tracks are nearly enough to circle the globe while its high-speed railway network, with speeds of up to 300 km/h, is the fourth largest in the world.