A lot has happened in 2022. Time for a review of the year through the statistics.
Review of January: economic performance below pre-crisis levels and economic hope
An increase in price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.6% in 2021 and economic output still below the pre-crisis level of the 4th quarter of 2019. This is the starting point for the German economy at the beginning of 2022. Strong economic growth is now expected to overcome the Corona crisis overcome. The hope will not be fulfilled: just over a month after the first results for 2022 GDP were presented, the Russian attack on Ukraine begins.
From now on, the German economy is holding its own in the persistently difficult environment, with GDP in the third quarter of 2022 reaching the pre-crisis level of the fourth quarter of 2019 for the first time. But the hoped-for growth spurt does not materialize. January 13, 2023 will show how GDP developed in 2022 as a whole. Then the Federal Statistical Office presents the first calculation for GDP in 2022. Until then, those who are impatient can monitor the economy in real time with the “pulse monitor for the economy” – the tool is available Germany dashboard
Review of February: War in Ukraine – Germany takes in hundreds of thousands of refugees
It's war in Europe. On the night of February 24, 2022, Russia invades Ukraine. The fate of the Ukrainians is moving, the willingness to help is great. In the first two months after the start of the war alone, Germany accepted almost 630,000 people from Ukraine. By the end of August there were over 950,000 refugees, most of them women and children. The largest refugee migration to Germany since 2015 is the reason why over 84 million people live here for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic.
March review: stockpiling and rising fuel prices
“Hoarding” is back. While consumers cleared out toilet paper shelves at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, among other things, concerns about supply bottlenecks after the start of the war in Ukraine focused on cooking oil and - a parallel to the Corona crisis - on flour. At times, sales of these products double or triple. As demand for these foods declines somewhat, gasoline and diesel prices rise as the energy crisis worsens. A liter of diesel costs a daily average of 2.16 euros on March 20, 2022, which is a whopping 50 cents more than on February 20, 2022.
Review of April: Historically high inflation as a result of the war and crisis situation
In April, the Federal Statistical Office showed that the fuel price increases observed in Ukraine since the start of the war are higher than during the two oil crises in 1973/1974 and 1979/1980 and the financial market crisis in 2008/2009. Driven by price increases for energy products, but increasingly also by rising food prices, the inflation rate exceeded the 7 percent mark in April for the second month in a row. The last time there was a similarly high inflation rate in the former federal territory was in the fall of 1981, when mineral oil prices also rose sharply as a result of the First Gulf War between Iraq and Iran.
Review of May: Inventory of a country – the surveys for the 2022 census begin
May 15th is the census deadline. In the following months, 5,400 decentralized population registers across Germany will be evaluated for the 2022 census and around 30 million people will be surveyed in order to gain statistical information about around 41 million households, 20 million buildings and 40 million apartments. No other survey provides such comprehensive population figures and information on households, families and their living situation. The census provides a factual basis for important political decisions in Germany. The census results will be published at the end of 2023 – of course digitally, openly, free of charge and machine-readable.
Review of June: More passengers on buses and trains during the period of the 9 euro ticket
The 9 euro ticket starts. The subsidized monthly public transport ticket is part of the second relief package, which is intended to mitigate the consequences of the energy price crisis. Although the elimination of Corona measures also promotes an increase in passengers, the increase of 39% more public transport passengers in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year is also an effect of the ticket valid from June. In the 3rd quarter of 2022, in which the 9 euro offer applies in July and August, there will be another 11% more passengers on local trains than in the previous quarter.
A special analysis of mobile phone data shows that during the period of the 9 euro ticket, the number of train journeys over longer distances of 30 kilometers or more increased significantly - and fell abruptly after the end of the offer. Incidentally, the number of road trips over these distances is not decreasing, but remains constant during the week compared to the comparable values for 2019.
Review of July: More solar power, but also more electricity from coal and natural gas in the summer quarter
An exceptionally high number of hours of sunshine and new photovoltaic systems will lead to an increase in electricity generation from photovoltaics by a good 20% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This means that solar modules generate almost a sixth of the electricity fed into the grid in Germany. More and more companies and private households are relying on solar power: In March 2022, 2.2 million photovoltaic systems with a total nominal output of 58,400 megawatts were installed on roofs and properties. Both the number of systems and the installed capacity increased by around 10% within a year. The majority of the electricity generated in Germany is also generated from coal in the sunny summer quarter. Coal-fired power accounts for over a third of electricity generation, and despite high gas prices, electricity generation from natural gas is also increasing. The loss of three nuclear power plants at the end of 2021 will also be compensated for by coal and gas power plants.
Review of August: Domestic tourism back to pre-Corona levels
Germany is on summer vacation. After two years of curbed holiday enjoyment due to the pandemic and despite rising prices, the number of overnight stays in tourism-relevant accommodation has reached the pre-crisis level of 2019 for the first time in a month. With 58.2 million guest overnight stays, the accommodations recorded 0.6% more stays than in August 2019. Remarkable The main focus is on the development of the number of overnight stays on campsites. In August 2022 they were 9.3 million, 14.7% higher than in August 2019. The Corona situation has apparently increased the already existing trend towards camping.
Mind you: These numbers say something about domestic tourism. A good 55 million passengers will fly abroad from Germany's main airports in the summer of 2022, more than twice as many as in the summer of 2021, which was more affected by the pandemic, but still almost a quarter fewer than in the pre-crisis summer of 2019.
Review of September: Stationary retail cannot come close to pre-crisis sales
While tourism accommodation providers are looking at increasing guest numbers, stationary retailers in German city centers are still seeing significantly fewer customers and sales than before the corona pandemic. From January to September 2022, stationary clothing stores made 11.0% less sales, adjusted for prices, than in the same period of the pre-Corona year 2019. For bookstores the decline is 21.0%, for toy stores it is 17.5% and for electronics stores it is 7.4% %. Although the entire stationary retail sector recorded a slight increase in sales of 3.0% adjusted for prices from January to September 2022 compared to the comparable period in 2019, this increase in sales is very small compared to the booming online and mail order trade: sales there increased by more in the same period than ten times, namely by 31.2%.
Review of October: Inflation at record levels causes real wage losses
The inflation rate reached a new record high of 10.4% in October. The main reasons for the high consumer prices continue to be the enormous price increases for energy products. But rising food prices are also clearly noticeable for consumers. A look at the development of real wages shows how much high inflation reduces purchasing power: In the third quarter of 2022, employees will have to accept a real wage loss of 5.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, which is the largest decline in real wages since the time series began in 2008.
November review: Winter is approaching and concerns about heating costs are increasing
Despite the still quite mild temperatures, heating is becoming more and more of an issue given the high energy prices. According to a preliminary evaluation from the additional microcensus survey on the living situation with data from the first half of 2022, 71% of private households in Germany still heat with fossil fuels. Gas heaters are the most widespread: half (51%) of households say they heat their homes with gas, and a fifth (20%) use oil heaters. With measures such as the so-called December emergency aid and the electricity and gas price brake, which will apply retroactively to January from March 2023, the federal government wants to cushion the expected additional costs for energy.
The results of the survey on income and living conditions for 2021 show how difficult it was for many households to keep their homes warm even before the energy price crisis began: According to this, around 2.6 million people in Germany were unable to keep their house or apartment for financial reasons heat appropriately.
December review: Prospects for population development up to 2070
The year 2022 ends with a look ahead to the year 2070. In December, the Federal Statistical Office will present the results of the 15th coordinated population forecast at a press conference. Accordingly, the number of people of retirement age (67 years and older) will increase by around 4 million to at least 20 million by the mid-2030s. In the 2040s, the number of people aged 80 and over and thus the need for care will probably increase massively. At the same time, the number of people of working age will fall by up to 4.8 million people .
How many people will live in Germany in 2070 depends largely on net immigration. With low net immigration, the population would fall from the current 84 million to around 75 million; with a permanently high net migration it would rise to 90 million.
Source:
Federal Office of Statistics
Have you read the latest Mimikama fact check? What does Christian Drosten mean by: The pandemic is over?
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

