Press release No. 41 of December 14, 2022

• More than 30 million responses were received in the census year of 2022
• Most respondents used the online questionnaire

• The campaign around census day reached millions of people

   

WIESBADEN - It was a very special year for official statistics. The Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the Länder successfully conducted the 2022 Census in Germany. The large-scale project, consisting of a population census and a census of buildings and housing, had been planned and prepared down to the last detail in the statistical offices and municipalities for many years. After all, many millions of citizens in Germany provide information on housing, education or employment. The census delivers up-to-date results on the number of inhabitants as well as information on households, families and their housing circumstances. They form a reliable basis for political decision-making in Germany. In the European Union, too, the results are used as a data basis and for planning purposes.

Online questionnaires met with broad acceptance
The statistical offices of the Länder set up about 600 survey offices in the municipalities in order to carry out the household surveys. Up to 100,000 volunteer interviewers went from door to door to collect the required information from the participating households, starting in the middle of 2022. "We would not have been able to carry out the 2022 Census without the great work done by the interviewers," said Dr. Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office. "Moreover, it is particularly satisfactory that our online first strategy was so well accepted by the public." Most of the respondents opted for the paperless questionnaires. The online response rate for the census of buildings and housing is roughly 85%. The household surveys, which were successfully completed at the end of November, also showed broad acceptance of the quick and easy online forms.

 
Most important in the 2022 Census: keeping the population informed
Informing the population about the purpose and use of the census is a key element of the public relations activities by the statistical offices of the Federation and the Länder. Starting at the beginning of the year, several press briefings were held by the Federal Statistical Office and the Land Office for Statistics of Bayern, as representative of the Länder. The briefings provided an overview of the parties involved and the methodology as well as information on the range of census results that will become available and on the conduct of the surveys. Close to the reference date in May, press conferences were held in Berlin and in the Länder to mark the start of the surveys. A nationwide advertising campaign around the census day drew attention to the census by both digital and analogue means, with posters, advertisements in newspapers and periodicals, and radio spots. Many millions of contacts were achieved by these measures.

"We are looking back at a very successful census year in 2022. On behalf of the Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the Länder, I would like to thank all participants and everyone involved," said Georg Thiel. "Major steps are planned for the coming months to assure data quality and to process the census data. We will release the new number of inhabitants and all other results of the 2022 Census in November 2023."

More information on the 2022 Census and its surveys is available at www.zensus2022.de. There you will also find sample questionnaires (in German) of the 2022 Census surveys. If you are interested, we will be pleased to find you interview partners to discuss census issues.

Follow us on www.twitter.com/zensus2022!

For further information: www.zensus2022.de/contact