Overview
- Statistical offices are mailing selection notices nationwide as roughly 810,000 people are chosen by random sample.
- In Bavaria alone, about 130,000 people in 65,000 households are selected, with North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg also issuing large batches of invitations.
- Households can respond online, by telephone interview, on paper, or in rare cases through an in-home visit, with interviews running from January through December.
- The questionnaire can span about 130 pages with more than 200 items covering family, work, income, housing, health and internet use.
- Participation is compulsory under the Microcensus Act and the Federal Statistics Act, with reminders and potential fines up to €250 for refusal, while data are anonymized and released only in aggregate.