Statistics has weaknesses
Number of accommodated homeless people increases dramatically
8/2/2023 4:14 p.m
Many people in Germany do not have their own home. In the past year, the number of people accommodated because of homelessness has more than doubled. There are two main reasons for this.
According to statistics, the number of accommodated homeless people in Germany has grown significantly. The main reasons for this are improved data and the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. As of the end of January 2023, there were around 372,000 people, a year earlier when the data was first collected, there were 178,000, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.
On the one hand, the enormous increase is “due to an improvement in data reporting by the agencies involved in the second year of statistical implementation,” it said. On the other hand, around 130,000 refugees from Ukraine were accommodated this year, making up around a third of the total number. At 60,185, the number of people with German citizenship was higher than in the previous year (55,035), but their share was only 16 percent (2022: 31 percent). The nationality of 3.5 percent was unclear or they were stateless.
According to the information, half of all people accommodated were men, 42 percent were women and 7.2 percent had the gender given as “unknown”. The average age was 31 years. According to the data, more than a third of all detainees were under the age of 25, and 5 percent were 65 years old or older. Couples with children formed the largest group (31 percent), followed by single people (29 percent) and single parents (16 percent).
“The massive increase in accommodated homeless people is a clear expression of the housing crisis in Germany. There is a lack of affordable and socially bound housing everywhere,” said Werena Rosenke, Managing Director of the Federal Working Group for Homeless Aid. To attribute the growth solely to flight and migration is not enough: “Termination, rent arrears, illness or domestic violence are important reasons and triggers for homelessness.”
“Homelessness is not destiny”
The statisticians also provided data on the individual federal states: North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state, had the most homeless people (84,690), followed by Baden-Württemberg (76,510) and Berlin (39,375). The numbers were lowest in Saarland (2805), in Saxony-Anhalt (1980) and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1195). The data from the Federal Office relate to reports from municipalities and facilities, such as emergency and community accommodation.
A weakness of the statistics is that not all homeless people are recorded, but only those who are housed institutionally, said Rosenke. And the Diakonie Germany also confirmed that the actual number of homeless people is significantly higher. For example, people who live on the street, who temporarily stay with friends, acquaintances or family or who live in women’s shelters, for example, are not counted. Maria Loheide, Head of Social Policy at Diakonie Germany, called on the federal government to act more consistently in social housing policy. Because, as she emphasized: “Homelessness is not fate, but a solvable problem.”