Press release No. 49 of September 18, 2024

• Just under 16,800 people aged 100 years and over living in Germany on 15 May 2022
• Number of centenarians up 25% since 2011
• Urban administrative districts: per capita, the highest number of people aged 100+ living in Würzburg

WIESBADEN - Just under 16,800 centenarians (people aged 100 years and over) were living in Germany on 15 May 2022. Of these, around 9,800 (59%) were living in private households. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that people in this age group were therefore living in their own home more often than previously the case. The share of those living in their own home has risen 10 percentage points since the 2011 Census.

Nearly one half (46%) of those aged 100 years or over who lived in private households owned their accommodation, while 54% lived in rented accommodation. 67%, or just under 6,600 people, lived in single-person households and around 1,500 lived in two-person households (16%). The remainder lived in three-person or multi-person households. By contrast, just under 7,000 people (42%) lived in collective living quarters, such as retirement homes and nursing homes.

Increase in number of centenarians since 2011

On 15 May 2022 (Census Day), a total of roughly 16,800 people in the 100+ age group were living in Germany. This represents a 25% increase on the approximately 13,400 centenarians living in Germany according to the 2011 Census. Thanks to better living conditions, greater prosperity and medical advances, people in Germany are living longer.

Around 85% of centenarians were women

In both 2022 and 2011, the majority of those aged 100 and over were women. The proportion of women decreased slightly from 88% in 2011 to 85% in 2022. The proportion of men rose accordingly, from 13% in 2011 to 15% in 2022.

More than a third of centenarians living in large towns or cities

Every third town or municipality in Germany had residents aged 100 years or more. With 4.6 centenarians per 10,000 population, Würzburg was the urban administrative district with the highest concentration of centenarians.

People aged 100 years and over primarily lived in towns with 5,000 residents or more (90%), while more than a third (36%) lived in large towns or cities with a population of at least 100,000. This is 4 percentage points more than the total population. 29% were living in medium-sized towns with a population of 20,000 to under 100,000, and a further 26% were living in small towns with a population of 5,000 to under 20,000. 10% of those in the 100+ age group lived in rural areas, i.e. in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents, while 14% of the total population lived in these areas. The proportion of centenarians per 10,000 population was highest in the Länder of Schleswig-Holstein and Sachsen, at 2.5 and 2.4 respectively.

4% of centenarians married

93% of centenarians, or around 15,500, lived in a partnership at least some time in their lives. 84%, or some 14,100 people, were already widowed or their partner was deceased. In 4% of the cases, concerning around 700 people, the marriage had ended in divorce or the registered partnership had been dissolved. Just under 700 centenarians (4%) were still married, and around 1,200 (7%) were single.

Methodological notes:

The Census is designed to provide nationally comparable results for a specific reference date while keeping the burden on respondents to a minimum. The 2022 Census was carried out using a register-assisted procedure, as was the 2011 Census. This means that existing administrative data were used - particularly from the population registers. The real estate owners to be surveyed were determined, for instance, on the basis of real property tax data. Where no or not enough administrative data were available or the data quality was insufficient, surveys were conducted to obtain the required data. Roughly 12% of the population were polled in the household survey. Approximately 23 million residential property owners provided information on their property for the census of buildings and housing, as did some 8,000 housing companies. For the first time, questions were asked in relation to the rent charged, the heating energy used and the reasons for dwelling vacancy and the vacancy duration. Information on the conduct of the 2022 Census is also provided in the Factsheet zum Ablauf der Befragungen.

More information:
These and other results of the 2022 Census can now be accessed at www.zensus2022.de. In the press section, you can find current information for the press, press releases, contacts, press photos and further downloads relating to the 2022 Census.

In addition to the data just released, the website provides:

• Regional tables for download (in EXCEL format, including machine-readable tables). The regional tables contain data for regional levels - Germany, Länder, administrative regions, urban districts/towns not attached to an administrative district/rural districts, associations of municipalities, and municipalities. They cover the following five subject areas:
  1. Population figures
  2. Demographics
  3. Census of buildings and housing
  4. Education and employment
  5. Households and families
• The Census Atlas, an interactive map which comprises results for the population, buildings and dwellings on the basis of grid cells (10 km, 1 km and 100 m).
  
• Podcasts, videos and animations with background information (for example about the benefits of the data)

Links to all applications will be provided at www.zensus2022.de once they are available. We will also notify all subscribers to our Census Newsletter about further additions to our website. You can register for the newsletter on our press page. At x.com/Zensus2022 we will also keep you abreast of our latest releases.

For further information:
Press office, Tel: +49 611 75 3444 (service number)
www.zensus2022.de/contact