Ministry: German economy expected to shrink 6% in 2009

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BERLIN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The German economy is expected to shrink 6 percent this year, the biggest decline in Europe's largest economy since World War II, the Economy Ministry said Wednesday.

However, the ministry predicted that, with the help of fiscal stimulus packages and a revival of export growth, Germany's GDP will see a slight growth of 0.5 percent next year.

The German economy went into recession in the third quarter of last year.