Germany's economy may be shaky, but its science is in rude health. On 30 October, ministers from the federal government and Germany's 16 states pledged €25.3 billion (US$31.6 billion) over the next 6 years to support special programmes for research and higher education. With a research-and-development expenditure of about €100 billion per year - some two-thirds of which is corporate money-Germany is the fourth-highest science spender worldwide, behind the United States, China and Japan. Public funding for special programmes remained strong even after the global financial crisis of 2008. Now the windfall looks set to continue for the country's universities and large science organizations, despite drops in exports and industrial production that suggest that the economy could tip into recession.
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