Jena in figures: What is changing and what the city is learning from it

How many people live in Jena? How is the population changing? How many people commute into the city for work each day, and to what extent are cultural and leisure facilities used? The City of Jena’s local statistics provide the answers to these questions. To mark European Statistics Day on 20 October, the city is highlighting selected figures and showing why analysing them is important for Jena’s development.

After all, figures do not merely describe a city’s current state. It is only by comparing data over several years that it becomes clear what is changing, where new needs are emerging, and which developments the local administration and politicians need to keep an eye on.

Jena is changing – and the figures show how

According to the register of residents, 107,658 people had their main residence in Jena at the end of 2025. The average age was around 43.8 years. The composition of the population is also changing: at the end of 2025, 14,263 residents were foreign nationals. This corresponds to a proportion of around 13.2 per cent.

Demographic change is particularly evident in the birth rates. In 2025, 647 births and 1,213 deaths were recorded in Jena’s population register. This means that 566 more people died than were born. In the previous year, the excess of deaths over births had stood at 459.

What may sound abstract at first has concrete implications for urban development. A changing age structure, for example, influences how many nursery and school places will be needed in future, what demands will be placed on social infrastructure, and how housing and public services must be planned in the long term. These statistics help to identify such developments at an early stage and respond to them.

A centre for science, work and daily life

Jena is not only an important centre of life for its residents, but also a place of work for many people from the surrounding area. As at 30 June 2025, 28,595 employees subject to social insurance contributions were commuting to Jena from other municipalities. At the same time, a total of 20,305 students were enrolled at Friedrich Schiller University and Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences in the 2025/26 winter semester.

Trends in childcare and housing construction can also be traced using statistical data. As at 1 March 2026, 4,431 children were being looked after in 70 childcare centres in Jena, with a further 48 in home-based childcare. In the same year, 37 residential buildings comprising a total of 105 flats were newly built.

These key figures illustrate just how closely population trends, housing, work and education are interlinked. Local authority statistics also allow for a closer look at individual neighbourhoods and planning areas.

From sports clubs to libraries: figures also reveal what life is like in Jena

Statistics do not merely describe demographic and economic trends. They also reveal what defines Jena as a city and which facilities people make use of.

More than a third of the city’s area is forested, whilst just under nine per cent is made up of sports, leisure and recreational areas. Organised sporting life is also growing: at the start of 2026, a total of 29,152 memberships were registered across 115 sports clubs in Jena. That is 432 more than in the previous year.

The visitor figures for 2025 illustrate just how popular cultural venues are. The Jena Philharmonic attracted 42,425 visitors, whilst the Zeiss Planetarium welcomed 148,751 guests.

The trend at the Ernst Abbe Library is particularly striking. It recorded 358,876 visits: around 68,300 more than in 2024. These figures highlight the importance the library has now come to hold as a centre for education, culture and social interaction.

Good statistics reveal differences within the city

The particular strength of local authority statistics lies in the fact that many trends can be analysed not only for the city as a whole, but also at a local level. This makes it possible, for example, to identify which neighbourhoods are growing, where the age structure is changing, or how the resident population is developing.

These insights form an important basis for numerous tasks carried out by the city administration. They are incorporated, amongst other things, into population forecasts, planning for school networks and nursery provision, the rent index, transport planning, health reporting and sports development planning. Statistical information is also important for urban development strategies and for the open data platform WISSENsAllmende.

Statistics for everyone: Jena’s data is publicly available

The City of Jena makes its statistical analyses, quarterly reports and interactive applications publicly available. This enables citizens to see for themselves how their city and its individual districts are developing.

The statistics portal can be accessed at https://statistiken.jena.de.

Further information and the latest quarterly reports are available at https://statistik.jena.de.