Statistics Day on October 20

Numbers are more than just values - they tell stories about a city, its people and its development. On Statistics Day on October 20, Jena will show how data makes the city more liveable and sustainable.

From numbers to knowledge - from knowledge to decisions

"Figures become information - and from this comes knowledge that helps our city move forward," says Jennifer Michall, Treasurer and Head of Finance.

Municipal Statistics Jena collects, analyses and visualizes data from the most diverse areas of life - from population development and education to employment, housing, leisure, the environment and culture.

The decisive difference to federal or state statistics: In Jena, many developments can be viewed on a small-scale basis - for example by city districts, planning areas or electoral districts. In this way, the statistics office creates the basis for data-based decisions in administration, politics and urban planning.

From numbers to knowledge: Who lives in Jena?

How does a number become information and then knowledge?
43.7 is a number. If we add the fact that this is the average age of Jena on 31.12.2024, we have information. But it only becomes knowledge in comparison: Jena's population is on average 1.1 years older than 10 years ago.

There are more commuters - more than 29,000 people work in Jena but live outside the city. This makes Jena the city with the most commuters in Thuringia.
Jena is becoming more international - the proportion of foreigners has risen from 7.5 to around 13 percent.
The number of German nationals fell slightly from 99,000 to around 94,000.

These and many other key figures help to identify developments at an early stage - for example, where new daycare centers, schools or care facilities are needed, how the housing market is changing or which parts of the city are growing in particular.

Statistics for a city worth living in

Data also shows what makes Jena special: over a third of the city's area is forest, around nine percent is used for sport and recreation. Over 20,000 students characterize the city as a science location. Almost 5,800 children are cared for in 73 day care centers. And: Jena's 118 sports clubs have over 25,000 members.

The cultural diversity can also be expressed in figures: 44,000 visitors came to the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024, the Zeiss Planetarium counted over 160,000 guests and the Ernst Abbe Library recorded almost 300,000 visitors.

Innovative statistics with nationwide appeal

A recent award also shows that Jena is setting standards in municipal statistics work throughout Germany: at the Statistical Week in Wiesbaden, Volker Holzendorf, Team Leader of Data Management and Statistics, was honored with the 2025 Annual Award for Urban Statistics in the Technology/Innovation category. The Association of German City Statistics (VDSt) recognized the development of the Jena election dashboard (shiny.jena.de/elections/) - an interactive online application that presents election results in a transparent, understandable and distortion-free manner.

The dashboard was developed in a short space of time and is designed so that it can also be used by other municipalities. The city of Dortmund, for example, has since adopted the Jena model. It was important to create a realistic visualization: the area of a constituency is no longer colored in its entirety, but only its residential areas.

"Because forests don't vote," explains Holzendorf with a wink. Even the Federal Election Commissioner showed great interest in the presentation method.

The award underlines Jena's innovative strength and the high level of expertise of the local statistics office.

Data makes it possible to plan the future

Statistical findings are incorporated into almost all of the city's future projects - from population forecasts to the school network and daycare needs plan to the open data platform WISSENsAllmende, the climate concept, rent index and sports development plan. This creates a data-based foundation for political decisions and sustainable urban development.

Transparency for all

All citizens can view the results of the municipal statistics at any time - in the city of Jena's statistics portal at https://statistiken.jena.de.