Press release No. 108 of 23 March 2020
WIESBADEN – The spread of the coronavirus has an impact also on statistics production in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that all necessary measures are being taken to protect the staff members and maintain the production of statistics in important domains. These measures are adopted in close consultation with the competent ministries, the Land statistical offices and our partners in the European Statistical System.
Official data as an important basis for fact-based decisions - especially in times of crisis
Despite the difficulties arising in the current crisis, the bodies of official statistics are working to provide statistics, above all short-term economic statistics. These are important at present because estimation procedures cannot provide reliable results in this special situation. Estimation models are based on economic interrelations of the past, which are no longer valid. Therefore, real data are all the more important for evaluating the present situation. However, accuracy and reliability must not be disregarded despite the need for very recent data. Inaccurate results lead to the wrong decisions, for example regarding measures to support economic branches and businesses in trouble.
In the present situation of crisis, the Federal Statistical Office is setting clear priorities and concentrating the resources available on the timely provision of statistics that reflect short-term economic activity. These are above all the gross domestic product, the consumer price index and several other important short-term indicators used for calculating the gross domestic product. For more information please refer to the release calendar.
Showing the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the economy
The Federal Statistical Office gives very high priority to showing the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the economy. A dedicated webpage is being prepared for monitoring the consequences at the current end. The Federal Statistical Office will also publish important additional information relating to the coronavirus crisis to provide the clearest picture possible of the situation for political decision-making.
Current data on the coronavirus pandemic at Robert Koch Institute
For current data on the coronavirus pandemic and case numbers please refer to the Robert Koch Institute. The Federal Statistical Office does not collect real-time data on novel coronavirus infections.
Information for respondents
The present situation is particularly difficult for many enterprises, public authorities and private individuals obliged to report data for official statistics production. We are nevertheless asking you to submit your data via the familiar electronic transmission channels in this exceptional situation. Your data are important for the picture of the present economic situation. This applies also if production has come to a halt in your company or you are working short-time at the moment. Your data will help to provide politicians and administrative authorities with the basic information they need to decide on measures for coping with the crisis.
