The availability of consumer durables in private households and living standard indicators were surveyed regularly from the beginning of the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s within the Microcensus Special Surveys. Since these living standard indicators are an important additional information in the context of households‘ expenditures and income, they were integrated into the questionnaire of the Household Budget Survey from 1999/2000 onwards.
A number of consumer durables is also surveyed in EU-SILC, see tables 2.1a to 2.2b (available in German only). More detailed information about computer and Internet usage is provided in the survey on the usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) in private households.
Mobility
In 2019/
Communication
The decrease in landline telephone connections which
had been observed since the late 1990s continued. While 15 years ago
71% of households had a landline telephone, in 2009/10 just 59% and
in 2014/15 only 43% of households had one. Up until 2019/20 these figures
were still on the decrease and reached 31%. On the other hand, in 2004/2005
80% of households had at least one mobile phone, in 2019/20 already
97% of households owned at least one. The increase in internet availability
is equally remarkable: While 2009/10 around two thirds of households
had access to the internet, in 2019/
Precautionary insurance
The number of households with at least one household
member who is covered by life insurance and/or a pension policy declined
slightly from 46% in 2014/15 to 41% in 2019/20. Regarding health/accident
insurance policies the numbers remained stable with 52% having such
an insurance policy in 2014/15 and 53% in 2019/20. As far as credit
card coverage is concerned, in 2009/
Please consult our German website for tables and charts containing further information.