Editing Lower Saxony (section)

==Economy==
The [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) of the state was 229.5 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 8.7% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 33,700 euros or 112% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 100% of the EU average.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58|title=Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018|website=Eurostat|access-date=7 March 2020|archive-date=17 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417095003/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58|url-status=live}}</ref>

Agriculture, strongly weighted towards the livestock sector, has always been a very important economic factor in the state. The north and northwest of Lower Saxony are mainly made up of coarse sandy soil that makes crop farming difficult and therefore grassland and cattle farming are more prevalent in those areas. Lower Saxony is home, in 2017, to one in five of Germany's [[beef|cattle]], one in three of the country's [[pork|pigs]], and 50% of its [[poultry|hens]].<ref name=Stern122017>{{cite journal |pages=64–68 |author=Jan Boris Wintzenburg|title=Der Landluft auf den Spur |journal=Stern |publisher=[[Gruner + Jahr]], Hamburg |volume=12, 2017 |date=16 March 2017}}</ref> [[Wheat]], [[potatoes]], [[rye]], and [[oats]] are among the state's present-day [[Agronomy|arable]] crops. Towards the south and southeast, extensive [[loess]] layers in the soil left behind by the last [[Quaternary glaciation|ice age]] allow high-yield crop farming. One of the principal crops there is [[sugar beet]]. Consequently, the Land has a big food industry, mainly organised in small and medium-sized enterprises ([[Small and medium-sized enterprises|SME]]). Big players are [[Deutsches Milchkontor]] and [[PHW Group]] (biggest German poultry farmer and producer).

Mining has also been an important source of income in Lower Saxony for centuries. [[Silver ore]] became a foundation of notable economic prosperity in the Harz Mountains as early as the 12th century, while [[iron mining]] in the Salzgitter area and [[salt mining]] in various areas of the state became another important economic backbone. Although overall yields are comparatively low, Lower Saxony is also an important supplier of crude oil in the European Union. Mineral products still mined today include [[Iron ore|iron]].

[[Radioactive waste]] is frequently transported in the area to the city of [[Salzgitter]], for the [[deep geological repository]] [[Schacht Konrad]] and between [[Schacht Asse II]] in the [[Wolfenbüttel (district)|Wolfenbüttel]] district and [[Lindwedel]] and [[Höfer, Germany|Höfer]].

[[Manufacturing]] is another large part of the regional economy. Despite decades of gradual downsizing and restructuring, the carmaker [[Volkswagen]] with its five production plants within the state's borders still remains the single biggest private-sector employer, its world headquarters in {{Lang|de|[[Wolfsburg]]|italic=no}}. Due to the [[Volkswagen Law]], which has recently been ruled illegal by the [[European Union]]'s high court, the state of Lower Saxony is still the second-largest shareholder, owning 20.3% of the company.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7057815.stm |title='Volkswagen law' is ruled illegal |work=BBC News |access-date=24 October 2007 |date=23 October 2007 |location=London |archive-date=25 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025050859/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7057815.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Thanks to the importance of car manufacturing in Lower Saxony, a thriving supply industry is centred around its regional focal points. Other mainstays of the Lower Saxon industrial sector include aviation (the region of Stade is called CFK-Valley), shipbuilding (such as [[Meyer Werft]]), [[biotechnology]], and [[steel]]. Medicine plays a major role; Hanover and Göttingen have two large University Medical Schools and hospitals, and [[Otto Bock]] in Duderstadt is the largest producer of [[prosthetics]] and associated componentry in the world.

The service sector has gained importance following the demise of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. Important branches today are the tourism industry with [[TUI AG]] in Hanover, one of Europe's largest travel companies, as well as [[trade]] and [[telecommunications]]. Hanover is one of Germany's main hubs for insurance and financial-services companies, for example [[Talanx]] and [[Hannover Re]].
 
In October 2018, the Lower Saxony unemployment rate stood at 5.0% and was marginally higher than the national average.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/36651/umfrage/arbeitslosenquote-in-deutschland-nach-bundeslaendern/|title=Arbeitslosenquote nach Bundesländern in Deutschland 2018 {{!}} Statista|website=Statista|language=de|access-date=13 November 2018|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627171657/https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/36651/umfrage/arbeitslosenquote-in-deutschland-nach-bundeslaendern/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Year<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online/data;sid=B1C50643A60FE295E866C5D1DE88989D.GO_2_2?operation=previous&levelindex=3&levelid=1542121134059&levelid=1542121130976&step=2|title=Federal Statistical Office Germany – GENESIS-Online|last=(Destatis)|first=© Statistisches Bundesamt|date=13 November 2018|website=www-genesis.destatis.de|language=en|access-date=13 November 2018|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308110120/https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online/data;sid=B1C50643A60FE295E866C5D1DE88989D.GO_2_2?operation=previous&levelindex=3&levelid=1542121134059&levelid=1542121130976&step=2|url-status=live}}</ref>
!2000
!2001
!2002
!2003
!2004
!2005
!2006
!2007
!2008
!2009
!2010
!2011
!2012
!2013
!2014
!2015
!2016
!2017
!2018
|-
|Unemployment rate in %
|9.3
|9.1
|9.2
|9.6
|9.6
|11.6
|10.5
|8.8
|7.6
|7.7
|7.5
|6.9
|6.6
|6.6
|6.5
|6.1
|6.0
|5.8
|5.3
|}

===World Heritage Sites===
{{see also|List of World Heritage Sites in Germany}}
Lower Saxony has four [[World Heritage Sites]].

<gallery heights="80" perrow="6">
Hildesheimer Dom 2015.JPG|[[Hildesheim Cathedral]]
St Michaels Church Hildesheim.jpg|[[St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim|St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim]]
Rammelsberg Bergwerksanlagen.jpg|[[Rammelsberg|Mines of Rammelsberg]]
GoslarMaltermeister.jpg|[[Goslar|Historic Town of Goslar]]
Teiche Buntenbock.jpg|[[Upper Harz Water Regale]]
13-09-29-nordfriesisches-wattenmeer-RalfR-19.jpg|[[Wadden Sea|Lower Saxony Wadden Sea]]
Fagus Gropius Hauptgebaeude 200705 wiki front.jpg|[[Fagus Factory|Fagus Factory in Alfeld]]
</gallery>