More than half of the state's gross output in the late 20th century consisted of industrial and handicraft products. Trade, transportation, and services accounted for less than half, and agriculture and forestry for less than one-tenth.

Farms have grown larger and employ fewer hands. There has been a trend to specialization in crops and to production for specific markets. Most farms are family-operated. Small units are common, and there are a few large landholdings manned by foreign workers. Rye, wheat, and barley take up about half of the farmland; potatoes, sugar beets, and other vegetables another one-fourth; and the rest is given to hay, hops, and vineyards.

The development of Bavarian industry was at first hampered by a lack of minerals and poor transportation. The natural disadvantages have been overcome by the development of hydroelectric power and more recently by the use of oil piped in from the Mediterranean ports of Marseille, Genoa, and Trieste. Improved transportation has encouraged industries that manufacture and finish quality products.

After World War II the government made efforts to attract industries, with the result that Bavaria attained a higher rate of industrial growth than the rest of Germany. In the late 20th century the leading industries were electronics, machinery, chemicals, textiles, automobiles, clothing, and foodstuffs; the range of industrial effort was too broad to give any industry a unique predominance.

Trade and commerce resemble that of the rest of Germany, with the exception of the tourist trade, which has assumed particular importance in the Bavarian Alps. Bavaria has several hundred thousand hotel beds, and most of them are in the Alpine area.

Begun in 1835, the Bavarian railroad system was heavily developed in the second half of the 19th century. All main lines either are electrified or use diesel engines. The most important waterway is the Main River, which is navigable as far as Bamberg. The Danube carries vessels as far upstream as Kelheim. Bavaria has major airports at Munich-Riem and Nürnberg.

Bavaria' Economy Facts & Figures, As of July 2001 (PDF)