Angela Merkel on Facebook: 'It's nice to have it, like it's nice to have a decent washing machine'

The German Chancellor said the social network can't make people happy in life

Angela Merkel has more than a million 'likes' on her Facebook page (Getty Images)

Angela Merkel has said Facebook is “nice to have…like a decent washing machine” but cautioned that it “won’t make you happy in life”.

The German Chancellor mused about the social network while speaking at a church in Stuttgart on Friday during a Protestant congress.

After speaking about online privacy, a question from a young boy was posed asking whether Ms Merkel liked Facebook.

“It's nice that we have it - it's nice like having a car or a decent washing machine,” she said to laughter and applause from the audience, according to the DPA news agency.

More than one million people “like” Ms Merkel’s official page but her comments suggested she considers few of them close.

Facebook connections don't make people 'great' friends, the German Chancellor said (AFP/Getty Images)

“The pure existence of Facebook does not mean that I automatically have great friends,” she added.

“It’s not as if Facebook will make you happy in life.”

Ms Merkel said Facebook was an asset for contacting people but it was better to meet up with friends in real life to socialise, Der Spiegel reported.

The German Chancellor was mocked online two years ago for calling the internet “Neuland,” or uncharted territory, “for us all” while talking about privacy.

Additional reporting by AP