Overview

• Hanau, Fulda, Gießen, Rotenburg and Kassel have lodged lawsuits in administrative courts after the Statistical State Office dismissed their objections on June 23.
• The cities claim that pandemic-related registration gaps and statistical extrapolation methods led to underestimated headcounts and accuse the office of insufficient transparency.
• The disputed 2022 census relies on household surveys and extrapolation techniques upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2011 and underpins Hesse’s municipal financial equalization scheme.
• Kassel’s count fell by about 7,500 residents and Hanau’s by nearly 9,000, exposing the cities to annual losses of roughly €12 million and €10 million respectively if the figures stand.
• Administrative courts will now rule on both the census methodology’s validity and the allocation of state grants tied to official population figures.