Purchasing power parities (prc_ppp)

1.1. Contact organisation

[DE1] Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt)

1.2. Contact organisation unit

Department D 'National accounts, Prices'

Devision D 3 'Prices'

Section D 36 'Methods and communication of price statistics'

1.3. Contact name

Confidential because of GDPR

1.4. Contact person function

Confidential because of GDPR

1.5. Contact mail address

Statistisches Bundesamt

Gustav-Stresemann-Ring 11

65189 Wiesbaden

1.6. Contact email address

Confidential because of GDPR

1.7. Contact phone number

Confidential because of GDPR

1.8. Contact fax number

Confidential because of GDPR

2.1. Metadata last certified

31 January 2025

2.2. Metadata last posted

31 January 2025

2.3. Metadata last update

31 January 2025

3.1. Data description

See concept 3.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.1.1. Organisation

The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is mainly located in Wiesbaden. Branch offices are in Bonn and Berlin. PPPs belong to department D ‘National accounts, prices’ and division D3 ‘Prices’.

PPPs are part of the section D 36 ‘Methods and communication of price statistics’. 

 

The German PPP team

In section D36 there are currently three senior statisticians of the higher intermediate service for PPPs. The national coordinator, very experienced for price statistics, joint the PPP team on 1 January 2025.
 

Consumer goods and services

For consumer goods and services, the PPP team conducts price surveys in the capital city Berlin. National average prices are calculated by special spatial adjustment factors (SAFs). 

Rents

For rents, data from the German microcensus and the national accounts are used. The PPP team compiles and validates the data.

 

Consumer price indices

The section D 33 ‘Consumer Prices’ submits data of the German harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) to Eurostat. Eurostat is pre-filling the questionnaire for PPPs and the PPP team is responsible for the gap filling.

 

Government services

The section H 34 ‘Public Service, Development Cooperation’ provides payroll data. The PPP team fills in the salary questionnaire and validates the data.

 

Equipment goods

A subcontracted company has been conducting the preview, pre-survey and price collection since 2023. Validation work is done by the PPP team.

 

Construction

A subcontracted company has been conducting the construction survey since the beginning of the 1970s. It is also involved in the validation process.

 

Expenditure weights

National accounts devision provides expenditure weights, tips and VAT. Provided expenditure weights are not detailed enough for all basic headings (BH). In this cases the PPP team fill the gaps using weights from the consumer price index (CPI). The national accounts have a contact point (section  D 16 ‘Price and Volume Measurement, International Economic Interdependence, Input-Output Analyses’) for coordination of the data.

 

Hospital services

Section H 13 ‘Health related accounting systems’ conducts the whole hospital services survey. The section is located at the FSO branch office in Bonn.

 

Drafting the PPP inventory

Chapter 3.2 ‘Hospital services’ is drafted by section H 13 ‘Health related accounting systems’. Chapter 5 'Final expenditure on GDP (Table 24) the related section D 16 of national accounts are mainly in charge of drafting. All other chapters are drafted by the PPP team.

3.2. Classification system

See concept 3.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.3. Coverage - sector

See concept 3.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

See concept 3.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.5. Statistical unit

See concept 3.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.6. Statistical population

See concept 3.6 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.7. Reference area

The whole country.

3.8. Coverage - Time

See concept 3.8 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

3.9. Base period

Not applicable, because PPPs (Purchasing power parities) are primarily spatial indicators.

See concept 4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements

See concept 6.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing

See concept 6.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

7.1. Confidentiality - policy

The confidentiality of all PPP data is assured by § 16 of the ‘Bundesstatistikgesetz’ (BStatG)[1].

 

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Annexes:
Bundesstatistikgesetz

7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

By signing their contracts of employment, all employees of the FSO (incl. apprentices and trainees) obligate themselves to respect the legal provisions about data confidentiality. The two subcontractors as well are obligated to respect the legal provisions about data confidentiality by contract.

The subcontractors have only access to the related survey (construction or equipment goods).

Moreover, the FSO respects the Code of Practice of the European Statistical System (ESS).

8.1. Release calendar

Not available.

8.2. Release calendar access

Not applicable.

8.3. Release policy - user access

Not applicable.

See concept 9 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

10.1. Dissemination format - News release

The FSO publishs several press releases about price levels each year. The press releases
contain updated preliminary results  on the level of ‘Household final consumption expenditure’ or other categories like price levels for hotels and restaurants. Several social media (Instagram) contributions are published. The timetable is not fixed.

10.2. Dissemination format - Publications

The FSO website theme Prices ‘International comparison of prices’ is available in German and English.

Purchasing power parities for ‘household final consumption expenditure’ are monthly updated by the FSO with the inflation rates (consumer price index) and exchange rates. A monthly updated table is here available with over 500 price levels (PL) for many analytical categories.

Methods including calculation examples for staying abroad (work, studies, travel) and links to
Eurostat, OECD and the Worldbank are as well available.

10.3. Dissemination format - online database

Not applicable.

10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

See concept 10.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

10.5. Dissemination format - other

Not applicable

10.6. Documentation on methodology

The latest version of the "EUROSTAT-OECD Methodological manual on purchasing power parities" is available online. 

10.7. Quality management - documentation

See concept 10.7 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

11.1. Quality assurance

All data provided undergo a detailed multilateral validation process, described in detail in the PPP Manual (see 10.6).

11.2. Quality management - assessment

At European level, the PPP Regulation requires Eurostat to assess the PPP processes of each EU Member State at least once every six years and to publish the results of these assessments on the Eurostat website.

The outcome of these assessments are released on Eurostat's website.

12.1. Relevance - User Needs

See concept 12.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction

See concept 12.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

12.3. Completeness

All indicators are calculated and published.

13.1. Accuracy - overall

See concept 13.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

13.2. Sampling error

See concept 13.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

13.3. Non-sampling error

See concept 13.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

14.1. Timeliness

See concept 14.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

14.2. Punctuality

See concept 14.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

15.1. Comparability - geographical

See concept 15.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

15.2. Comparability - over time

See concept 15.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

15.3. Coherence - cross domain

See concept 15.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

15.4. Coherence - internal

Not applicable

Not applicable.

16.1. Persons involved in the PPP exercise

Not applicable.

17.1. Data revision - policy

See concept 17.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

17.2. Data revision - practice

Not applicable, cf. 17.1.

18.1. Source data

See concept 18.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

18.2. Frequency of data collection

See concept 18.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

18.3. Data collection

See concept 18.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

18.4. Data validation

See concept 18.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

18.5. Data compilation

See concept 18.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

18.6. Adjustment

See concept 18.6 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

No comment.

See concept 3.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

31 January 2025

See concept 3.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.6 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

The whole country.

See concept 5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 13.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 9 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 14.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 15.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 15.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.