The electrical engineering and electronics industry, with a turnover of DM 243 billion (1996) and roughly 895,000 employees, is likewise one of the main branches of industry in Germany. A turnover of about DM 223.6 billion was produced in 1996 by the food industry, which has a work force of 518,000. The textile and clothing industry still plays a significant role, employing 233,000 and generating a turnover of DM54 billion. With a work force of about 853,000, the metal-producing and metal-processing industry yielded a turnover of DM 216.1 billion in 1996. The mining industry (including extraction of stone and earth) employed 166,700 in 1996 and had a turnover of DM 29.2 billion.

The precision engineering and optical industry, together with the fields of measurement and control engineering, achieved a turnover of more than DM 50.3 billion in 1995. Their roughly 2,000 primarily small and medium-sized firms employed more than 225,000. In many sectors these firms have attained international prominence. The aerospace industry, which employs about 59,000, generated a turnover of about DM 16 billion in 1996. It demands the highest standards from outfitters and suppliers and is in many fields a pioneer of modern technology. Through its major European cooperation projects (such as Airbus and Ariane) it functions as a motor for cooperation between European industrial firms.