BERLIN (AP) — The German economy, Europe's biggest, shrank for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to preliminary official figures released Wednesday weeks before an election in which the economy is the top issue.

The Federal Statistical Office said that gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% last year following a decline in 2023. The head of the office, Ruth Brand, said that it's believed to have shrunk by 0.1% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period, but that is a rough initial estimate as hard economic data for December haven't been released yet.

The German economy has been battered by external shocks and homegrown problems, including red tape and a shortage of skilled labor, and politicians have been at odds over how to fix it.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition government collapsed in November when Scholz fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize the economy. That paved the way for an early election on Feb. 23.

Contenders to lead the next government have made contrasting proposals on how to inject new vigor into the economy.