Hessen - Economy
Structure of the economy
In addition to being centrally located and readily accessible, Hessen has a competitive blend of industry, crafts and trades, commerce and services, providing it with a sound economic basis and allowing it to adapt to global economic trends. In the primary sector, around 27 400 agricultural and 1 050 forestry holdings still work some 766 300 ha of farmland and 800 100 ha of forest. The wines of the Rheingau enjoy a reputation that extends beyond the borders of the Land, as does asparagus from the Ried area, rose bushes from the Wetterau and cherries from Witzenhausen. The industry of the Rhine-Main area is dominated by chemicals, engineering, electronics and vehicle manufacturing. Vehicle construction dominates in the Kassel area, whilst iron and steel, precision engineering and optics are the traditional mainstays of the Lahn-Dill region. Growth has been prompted in previous years by the tertiary sector in the main, this more than offsetting the decline in manufacturing. In terms of structure and turnover, retailing matches the average of the old Länder, but is suffering badly from the current downturn in private consumption. Frankfurt am Main makes Hessen the banking and insurance centre. Though not a conventional holiday destination, Hessen does attract visitors each year to its spa towns and picturesque uplands. Most foreign tourists come to Hessen for the international exhibitions and trade fairs.
Large services sector
No other Land has seen the tertiary sector develop to the extent Hessen has. In 1966, the tertiary sector generated less than half of the Land's net product, whereas by 2002 75% of net product was coming from commerce, transport, service enterprises, private households, private non-profit organisations and government. The 75% threshold for services was exceeded in 2001 in Wiesbaden, the Land capital (84.5%), the Main-Taunus Kreis (83.9%) and Frankfurt am Main (76.5%). At the other end of the scale is the Lahn-Dill district, which is dominated by optics and precision engineering, and where services account for just 53.4%. Mining, energy and water, the processing industries and construction accounted for a combined total of 23.5% of net product. Accounting for just 0.6% of net product, the primary sector (excluding mining) that was still dominant in the 19th century can now be all but ignored as an economic factor.
Transport
At the beginning of 2002, 4 161 400 vehicles were registered in Hessen. Of these, 3 496 300 were private cars. A good 96% of these were classified as low emission, and 539 900 cars were diesel. Between 1990 and 2002, the number of registered motor vehicles rose by 22.5% and the number of private cars by 17.8%. The vehicle density per 1 000 inhabitants increased over the period in question from 594 to 690. Over the past few years, technical improvements to vehicles and the compulsory wearing of seatbelts has helped keep down the number of road accidents resulting in injuries. In 2002, 501 people were killed in road accidents - the lowest figure since 1950. At the end of 2002, Hessen had a road network that was 16 665 km long - 957 km of motorway, 3 420 km of federal highways and 12 286 km of regional highways and country roads
Frankfurt airport saw a total of 458 400 take-offs and landings in 2002. Though this represented a further increase, the number of passengers stagnated, falling just shy of the 50 million mark. In terms of passenger numbers, Frankfurt is Germany's biggest airport, accounting for a good third of all passengers checked in at German airports. Frankfurt is also Germany's leading airport for cargo and airmail, accounting for 66% and a good 50% respectively.
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