Hanau doubts census data on population growth
Hanau: A Major City - Or Not? The city refuses to accept the results of the 2022 census, which suggest it has fallen short of the 100,000-resident mark. Now, it's bringing in an expert to discuss the matter with the State Statistical Office.
Hanau is disputing the results of the latest census, which counted only 93,632 residents as of May 15, 2022, a decrease of 6,675 people from 2021. The city is hoping for a revision of these numbers at an August meeting with the State Statistical Office, and has enlisted the help of social scientist Rainer Schnell for this purpose. Schnell teaches at the City University London and the University of Duisburg-Essen.
"One must ask why a statistical estimate based on around ten percent of the population should be more accurate than the continuously updated resident registration statistics," explained Hanau's SPD mayor, Claus Kaminsky. Schnell has previously dealt with the 2011 census and has been critical of the method. The meeting with the state office will also reportedly include Jürgen Dieter from the Hessian Towns Association.
The dispute over the actual population is not just about ego, but about the amount of money cities and municipalities will receive in the future through state and municipal financial equalization and EU funding.
Decline in Population Development
Every ten years, statisticians use a census, a kind of population count, to determine how many people live in Germany, how they live, and how they work. The 2022 census is based on official registers and a survey of twelve percent of the population.
In other calculations, Hanau had over 100,000 residents. Earlier, the state office had estimated Hanau's population for 2022 to be 100,307, suggesting that the 100,000 mark was reached in October 2022.
According to the census, Frankfurt, Kassel, Darmstadt, and Offenbach also had lower population numbers than in the so-called population forecast. Only Wiesbaden showed a slight increase. Hanau had the largest decline, with a decrease of 6.7 percent.
Hanau is actively challenging the census results, claiming that the city's population, supposedly at 93,632 as of May 2022, should be revised at an upcoming meeting with the State Statistical Office. The city's dispute stemming from the census data impacts their future financial aid, as higher populations typically translate to more funding through state and EU resources.
Despite the 2022 census numbers, Hanau had earlier been projected to surpass 100,000 residents by October 2022, as per the State Statistical Office's estimates. Therefore, Hanau's refusal to accept the census results can be considered a significant controversy in population data analysis.
