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Provide information for price statistics

As a company, you can be used for the collection of price statistics under certain conditions.

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Procedure details

The task of price statistics in Germany is to measure price developments over time for the most important goods markets in the German economy. They form the basis for

  • important economic indicators,
  • economic policy decisions,
  • the provision of information to the public on monetary inflation
  • the drafting and monitoring of commercial and private contracts, for example in the case of value protection clauses (price escalation clauses).

The Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the federal states regularly monitor the prices of a large number of goods and services in Germany. The following indices are compiled on the basis of the data collected:

  • Consumer Price Index
  • Producer price index of industrial products
  • Price indices for agriculture and forestry
  • Producer price index for services
  • Wholesale selling price index
  • Construction and real estate price indices
  • Import and export price index
  • Natural gas and electricity average prices.

These indices can be used to track price developments over time. This makes it possible to determine how prices have developed between two points in time. Prices are collected on a monthly or quarterly basis to determine price trends. This is done on the basis of a "basket of goods". This refers to the selection of goods and services that represents all goods and services in the scope of the price index in question. As a rule, the basket of goods is adjusted every 5 years.

The results of the survey on the half-yearly average prices for electricity and gas sold to household and non-household customers can be used to analyze the development and composition of electricity and gas prices in a European comparison.

The GENESIS-Online database offers all results of the price statistics in different data formats (xls, xlsx, html and csv).

The Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the Länder conduct the surveys for their price statistics within the framework of the legal provisions (see the section on legal bases).

  • Required Documents

    You do not need to submit any additional documentation.

The Federal Statistical Office determines the indices for Germany on a monthly or quarterly or semiannual basis through various forms of data collection:

  • On-site survey in the individual survey units by price investigators,
  • Evaluation of catalogs, tariffs, fee schedules, laws and administrative regulations,
  • Survey on the Internet,
  • Survey by paper questionnaires (for construction services price statistics),
  • reporting via the online reporting procedure IDEV (Internet data collection in the network)
  • or telephone survey of the survey units for selected products
  • and access to special databases or purchase of data from private providers.

If your company is selected, you can submit the majority of the data online:

  • You will receive a letter with the request to transmit your data to the Federal Statistical Office or to the responsible statistical office of the federal state (Heranziehungsbescheid). You can find out which information is required in your case from the letter.
  • Log on to the survey portal of the federal and state statistical offices. Follow the respective instructions to use the online reporting procedure IDEV.
    • IDEV: Transmit the data via electronic online forms. IDEV supports you to reduce your effort.
    • You received the access data for IDEV in a separate letter following the summons.
  • If necessary, the responsible statistical office will contact you in case of incomplete or implausible information.

The Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the federal states do not charge or reimburse you for price statistics.

You can find out how long you have to submit the data in the letter from the Federal Statistical Office or the State Statistical Office. In addition, for online surveys, you will usually receive a reminder by email before each survey wave.

  • In the case of an online survey, the responsible statistical office will immediately confirm the transmission of your data.
  • You will usually need between 10 and 20 minutes to process the survey for each statistic, and between 2 and 3 hours for the statistics on average electricity and gas prices.

The procedure can only be performed in German. An English translation can be provided in PDF format for some price statistics as an aid if required.

  • Objection.

Detailed information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the notice of appeal issued by the Federal Statistical Office.

Status: 22.02.2025
Editorial responsibility Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz