The turnover of the 1 189 German companies in the medical technology field, according to the Statistical Federal Department and the Industrial Association SPECTARIS, grew by 8.7% to 16 bn Euro in 2006 compared to 2005. The driving force of this growth was exports which grew by 12.8%. Medical products to the value of 10.36 bn Euro were sold in foreign countries in 2006. A profit of 2% was achieved in internal turnover which was valued in the past year at 5.65 bn Euro. With this the export quota grew further to almost 65% as in the previous year. The number of employees, at 87 545 remain almost unchanged in the annual comparison (2005: 87 607).