Persons at the place where they should be registered with single or main residence in Germany according to German federal law on registration (BMG - Bundesmeldegesetz). Members of diplomatic services as well as their families are exempted from registration and are not included in the population. The same applies to persons for whom an exemption to register is stated in international agreements. Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data.

Is the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, which after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart or pulsation of the umbilical cord.

No exact definition by law – but the irreversible and complete functional failure of the entire brain was set as obligatory condition. A medical doctor has to testify every death.

Registrations of single or main residence in Germany with former place of residence abroad as recorded by the local registration offices. According to the Federal law on registration, registration is obligatory for everyone taking a residence in Germany with the intention of staying more than 3 months. In some cases, persons staying less than 3 months register if they need a residence certificate e.g. for tax purposes. Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data. The statistical unit of the national immigration statistics is the immigration event.

Deregistrations of single residence in Germany with next place of residence abroad as recorded by the local population registers. According to the Federal law on registration, deregistration is obligatory for everyone moving out of his/her residence without taking a new residence in Germany regardless of intended duration of absence. Administrative deregistrations of persons who are not found anymore at their place of residence are included. Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data. The statistical unit of the national emigration statistics is the emigration event.

Acquisition of citizenship in Germany encompasses three different means:
1. Naturalizations;
2. Acquisition of German citizenship for Ethnic Germans (Spätaussiedler); and
3. Acquisition of German citizenship through adoption of a non-German person by German parents or a German parent.

The Federal Statistical Office publishes only data on acquisition of citizenship by naturalization. The national data include cases of naturalizations of persons abroad (restitution cases of forced denaturalizations during the Third Reich). Data provided according to european legislation refer to the resident population only. Persons acquiring the citizenship in Germany are registered and can be considered as having their usual residence in the country.

Not available.

Not available.

Foetus does not show any evidence of life (see definition life birth), but birth weight is at least 500 grams or [since November 2018] duration of gestation is at least 24 weeks.

Death during the first year of life of a live birth.

Certifications of unions between two persons by a registrar's office.

Decisions of German law courts. Divorces concerning members of foreign armed forces and diplomatic service are not taken into account. 

No difference.

No difference.

No difference.

Differences between national statistics and statistics for Eurostat concern time criteria and statistical unit.

Differences between national statistics and statistics for Eurostat concern time criteria and statistical unit.

German figures include naturalizations of persons abroad. Data on acquisition of citizenship by 'Spätaussiedler' or by adoption are not disseminated by the Federal Statistical Office.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Main difference concerns time criterion.

Data from the German Labour Force Survey/Microcensus are used for breakdown of population by country of birth. Target statistical population is the population in private housing and in institutions.

No survey data has been used.

No survey data has been used.

No survey data has been used.

No survey data has been used.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

No survey data has been used.

Methodological information:

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Methoden/erlaeuterungen.html

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsfortschreibung-2022.pdf

Article on the post 2011 census intercensal population updates:

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/WISTA-Wirtschaft-und-Statistik/2015/04/ermittlung-einwohnerzahlen-042015.pdf

 Breakdown by country of birth based on data from the microcensus survey:

https://www.destatis.de/GPStatistik/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/DEAusgabe_derivate_00000098/1010200101074.pdf (page 615).

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/geburten.pdf

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/sterbefaelle.pdf

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/WISTA-Wirtschaft-und-Statistik/2019/03/bevoelkerung-aufenthaltsort-032019.pdf

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/WISTA-Wirtschaft-und-Statistik/2019/03/bevoelkerung-aufenthaltsort-032019.pdf

Data are based on statistical reporting by naturalization offices (mostly at NUTS 3, sometimes NUTS 2).

Data on acquisition of German citizenship by Ethnic Germans is centrally provided by the Federal Administration Office, based on procedural data on immigrating Ethnic Germans. There may be a time discrepancy between the start of the procedures reported in the statistics and the actual “handing over” of the German passport.

Data on adoptions are provided by the Youth Welfare Offices (mostly at county, i.e. NUTS 3) on non-German adoptees living in Germany or having arrived from abroad.

https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?operation=variable&levelindex=0&levelid=1702283917807&code=BEV032&option=value%20association&info=on#abreadcrumb

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/WISTA-Wirtschaft-und-Statistik/2020/02/saeuglingssterblichkeit-deutschland-022020.pdf?__blob=publicationFile

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/eheschliessungen.pdf

Statistics are based on administrative data on decisions on dissolutions of marriages provided by german law courts. Basic data are yearly transmitted by the law courts to the statistical offices of the Länder for validation and compilation:

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/scheidungsstatistik.pdf

Data are based on the cadastral land registers of the Länder at community level. Changes in surface of administrative units due to a modification of the borders of administrative units are taken from the legal act modifying the administrative units.

Yes – definition of citizenship is applied.

Yes – country of birth is the country where the person was born.

Yes – country of birth is the country where the mother was born.

Yes – country of previous usual residence is the country where the person had his/her residence before coming to Germany.

Yes – country of next usual residence is the country where the person declares he/she is going to. If the country of next residence of non national is not known (e.g. administrative deregistration), then the country of citizenship is imputed.

Yes – definition of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 is applied.

Not available.

Yes – the 12 months-criteria of the definition of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Yes – definition of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied under consideration of the place of occurence.

Yes – the 12 months-criteria of the definition of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Not available.

Yes – definition of  Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 1260/2013 is applied.

Not available.

Not available.

Yes - definition of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied under consideration of the place of occurrence.

Not available.

Yes – Commission Regulation (EU) No 868/2014 amending the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS).

 Not available.

 Not available.

 Not available.

Population figures are calculated using the component method. The final results are based on a complete count of vital events and migrations events registered by the registrars and population registers respectively and on the 2011 census. All the final flow data are checked regarding double counting, completeness of variables and plausibility of information. Data are less accurate with growing time lag since the last census because of the cumulation of errors in the flow statistics over time. After each census, data are adjusted to the new census starting with the census year. The last adjustment occured with the 2011 census. 

Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data.

Concerning the breakdown of the population by citizenship, the category “unknown” applies if information on citizenship was implausible or unknown in the data transmitted by the local registration offices.

Concerning the breakdown of the population by country of birth, the category “unknown” applies if information on country of birth was missing in the survey.

Full coverage administrative data with high quality, including checks for completeness and plausibility. Births abroad of resident women might be underestimated in case they are not reported.

Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the respective registrar's office.

Full coverage administrative data with high quality, including checks for completeness and plausibility. Deaths abroad of resident population might be underestimated in case they are not reported.

Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the respective registrar's office.

For nationals, migration statistics face a high rate of non-response for data on duration of stay abroad, so that returns after a short term migration cannot always be properly separated from immigrations.

For non-nationals, the actual date of arrival to and departure from Germany is not always clear in the Central Register of Foreigners. Additionally, an immigrant’s sequence of arrivals and departures is not always plausible (about 4 % are implausible). Furthermore, there can be undercoverage if an immigrant is not registered in the Central Register of Foreigners (e.g. foreigners with special visa).

Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data if they meet the 12 months criteria. In 2022 Ukrainian citizens with an application still pending at the end of 2022 and temporary protection granted by mid 2023 are also included. 

Reasons behind the category “unknown” in immigration figures are accuracy issues.

Concerning the breakdown of immigrants by citizenship, the category “unknown” applies if information on citizenship was implausible or missing in the data transmitted by the local registration offices / in the Central Register of Foreigners.

Concerning the breakdown by country of birth, the category “unknown” applies if information on country of birth was implausible or missing in the data transmitted by the local registration offices / in the Central Register of Foreigners and no imputation was carried out.

Concerning the breakdown by country of previous usual residence, there has been an increase in the proportion of immigrants with an unknown country of previous usual residence from reference year 2016 on. This is because German citizens who register again after not having been registered for some time in Germany are since 2016 included in the immigration figures.

For German nationals, there are uncertainties concerning the number of citizens leaving without deregistrating. Missing emigration events are partially rectified through administrative deregistrations. These deregistrations are taken into account in emigrations data since 2016. However, there might be an underestimation if some departures are not identified. On the other hand, population registers are conducted at the local level and can carry out administrative deregistrations for persons who are not any more in the locality but may be staying elsewhere in Germany. There can also be an overcoverage of emigration. Furthermore, there can be a time gap between departure and administrative deregistration so that the patterns of deregistrations may timely differ from the emigration pattern.

For non-nationals, the sequence of arrivals and departures is not always plausible (about 8 % are implausible), in those cases imputations are carried out concerning the 12 months criteria. Foreigners leaving Germany have to notice their departure at the local population register and the information will be transmitted to the Central Register of Foreigners. As for nationals, there are uncertainties concerning the number of foreigners leaving without deregistrating; Missing departures are rectified to some extent by administrative deregistrations from the Central Register of Foreigners. Furthermore, there can be a time gap between departure and administrative deregistration so that the patterns of deregistrations may timely differ from the emigration pattern.

Asylum seekers, refugees and refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection are included in the data if they meet the 12 months criteria. In 2022 Ukrainian citizens with an application still pending at the end of 2022 and temporary protection granted by mid 2023 are also included.

Reasons behind the category “unknown” in emigration figures are accuracy issues.

Concerning the breakdown of emigrants by citizenship, the category “unknown” applies if information on citizenship was implausible or missing in the data transmitted by the local registration offices / in the Central Register of Foreigners.

Concerning the breakdown by country of birth, the category “unknown” applies if information on country of birth was implausible or missing in the data transmitted by the local registration offices / in the Central Register of Foreigners and no imputation was carried out.

Concerning the breakdown by country of next residence, there has been an increase in the proportion of emigrants with an unknown country of destination from reference year 2016 on. This is mostly because the country of destination is unknown to the local authorithies who carry out an administrative deregistration. In most cases, it is assumed that emigrants return to their country of citizenship. The increase since the reference year 2016 has two main reasons:

— Deregistrations of German citizens with an unknown country of next residence are included in the emigration figures from 2016 on. For nationals, the country of destination is not imputed.

— For citizens of countries with a high proportion of asylum seekers (e.g. Syria, Afghanistan), the assumption of a return to the country of citizenship was not applied in reference years 2016 to 2021.

There are no reported cases of assumed lack of accuracy in any of the three data sources used.

Not available.

Not available.

Full coverage administrative data with high quality, including checks for completeness and plausibility. Late foetal deaths abroad of infants born to resident mothers might be underestimated in case they are not reported.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the respective registrar's office.

Full coverage administrative data with high quality, including checks for completeness and plausibility. Deaths abroad of infants born to resident mothers might be underestimated in case they are not reported.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the respective registrar's office.

Full coverage administrative data with high quality, including checks for completeness and plausibility. Marriages of partners residing in Germany, but marrying abroad might be underestimated in case they are not reported.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the respective registrar's office.

Basically all relevant decisions are transmitted to the statistical offices. Data are based on legal decisions and were thoroughly checked for legal decision. There are further checked by the statistical offices of the Länder.

The category “unknown” can occur if the relevant information was not transmitted by the repective law court.

Most of data used in the calculation are based on full coverage administrative data.

Data on population by country of birth are based on a household survey (Microcensus) which covers every year about 800 000 persons. The results are accurate except for small groups of less than 71 persons in the sample.

Concerning the sampling error for this breakdown, see page 10 of the respective quality report:

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/mikrozensus-2021.pdf

Most of data used in the calculation are based on full coverage administrative data.

A households survey (Microcensus) was used for the calculation of the breakdown by country of birth. Concerning non-sampling error for this breakdown, see quality report of the microcensus, p. 10:

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Qualitaet/Qualitaetsberichte/Bevoelkerung/mikrozensus-2021.pdf

Population data are basically comparable between two censuses. After each census, there is an adjustment of the base of population data, so that post census data are not fully comparable with pre-census data. However, population development is from reference year 2016 on not fully comparable with the previous years because of methodological changes in the way deregistrations of German citizens with an unknown place of next residence are taken into account. 

There were major changes in the microcensus in 2020, so that the data by country of birth from 2020 on are not fully comparable with previous years.   

Data for foreign immigrants are comparable over time. Data on German immigrants from reference year 2016 on are not fully comparable to the previous years because of methodological changes. In particular, German citizens who register again after not having been registered for some time in Germany are now taken into account in the immigration figures. In addition, there were minor changes in the way events are attributed to a reporting period.

In the transition period 2016 to 2019, it is assumed that year to year figures for German immigrants are not fully comparable with figures in the respective previous year (e.g. 2017 is not fully comparable to 2016 etc.).

From 2020 on, it is assumed that the methodological effect of the transition has diminished so that figures on German immigrants are comparable over time.

Comprehensive checks of population registers were conducted in 2008, 2009 and partly 2010. This possibly resulted in overestimation of emigration as departures from previous years were booked in those reporting years as administrative deregistrations. It is however not possible to make the part of administrative deregistrations in the statistics and their impact on the results for those reference years. Data on emigration of German citizens from reference year 2016 on is not comparable with previous years because of methodological changes. In particular, German citizens deregistered with an unknown country of next residence are now taken into account in the emigration data. In addition, there were minor changes in the way events are attributed to a reporting period.

1. Census;

2. National statistics on migration and vital events;

3. Data on acquisition of citizenship (naturalization statistics or data from the local population registers);

4. Microcensus for breakdown by country of birth.

Registrar's offices.

Registrar's offices.

1. Local population registers;

2. Central Register of Foreigners.

1. Local population registers;

2. Central Register of Foreigners.

1. Naturalization statistics:  local naturalization offices

2. Data on immigrating Ethnic Germans: Federal Administration Office

3. Adoption Statistics: Youth welfare services

Not available.

Medical practices, hospitals.

Registrar's offices.

Registrar's offices.

Registrar's offices.

Law courts.

Not available.