Baden-Wuerttemberg (state)

Although it has a great number of multinationals, Baden-Württemberg's economy is basically dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. A great number of enterprises are considered innovative. Although poor in workable natural resources (formerly lead, zinc, iron, silver, copper and salts) and still rural in many areas, the region is heavily industrialized.

In 2003, there were almost 8,800 manufacturing enterprises with more than 20 employees, but only 384 with more than 500. The latter category accounts for 43% of the 1,2 million people employed in industry. Medium-sized businesses and a tradition of branching out into different industrial sectors have ensured specialization over a wide range. A fifth of the "old" Federal Republic's industrial gross value added is generated by Baden-Württemberg. The manufacturing turnover in 2003 exceeded 240,000 million, 43% of which came from exports. The region depends to some extent on global economic developments, though the great adaptability of the region's economy has generally helped it through crisises. Half of the employees in the manufacturing industry are in mechanical and electrical engineering and automobile construction. This is also where the largest enterprises are to be found. The importance of the precision mechanics industry also extends beyond the region's borders, as does that of the optical, clock making, toy, metallurgy and electronics industries. The textile industry, which formerly dominated a lot of the region, has now all but disappeared from Baden-Württemberg. Research and development (R&D) is funded jointly by the State and enterprises themselves. In 2001, more than a fifth of the 100,000 or so people working in R&D in Germnay were located in Baden-Württemberg, most of them in the Stuttgart area.

A study performed in 2007 by the Initiative for Social Market Economy (German: Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM)) and the trade newspaper "Wirtschaftswoche" awarded Baden-Württemberg for being the "economically most successful and most dynamic state" among the 16 states.

Reference: wikipedia.org