The 2022 census has been completed.
The census office has been closed.
What is the census and why was it carried out?
A census is a survey that determines how many people live in Germany and how they live and work. Many decisions at federal, state and local level are based on population and housing figures. In order to have reliable basic figures for planning, a regular population census is necessary.
The data is needed to plan in the municipalities whether, for example, more daycare centers need to be built or more senior-friendly housing needs to be provided. The data is also very important for obtaining basic data for the overall statistical system, as well as for a range of administrative procedures such as financial equalization and the division of electoral districts.
Who carried out the census?
The federal and state statistical offices work together for the census. The statistical offices of the federal states are responsible for conducting the surveys in their respective federal states. They independently collect the data for the building and housing census and organize the establishment of survey offices in the municipalities.
The census is carried out locally by employees of the city of Salzgitter in the local census office. The census officers are recruited, trained and supervised from there. The survey officers carry out the random sample survey in households, residential homes and shared accommodation.
Is my data secure?
Official statistics depend on the trust and acceptance of the population. For this reason, the Federal and State Statistical Offices pay the utmost attention to security precautions that guarantee the protection of your data during the census.
Data protection and information security are aligned with the requirements of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The data collected is secured by structural, technical and organizational access restrictions in the data centers of the statistical offices and the local survey offices.
Furthermore, all participants in the 2022 census are bound to strict confidentiality. This also applies to the locally deployed survey officers. The respondents' data will be anonymized and may only be used for statistical purposes. It is guaranteed that no conclusions can be drawn about the details of individuals from the census publications.
Census - further information
Further comprehensive information on the 2022 census is published on the central information platform (opens in a new tab) and on the homepage of the Lower Saxony State Office for Statistics (opens in a new tab).
The legal basis for the 2022 census can also be found there: