Important Environmental Indicators

The following overview presents environmental key indicators in a concise way. The selected indicators are particularly central for German and international environmental policy. For each indicator the text contains information about its relevance, its calculation methodology and an assessment of its development. For further information the indicator view contains links to more in-depth articles.

The report "Data on the Environment 2017" is available in German and English. You can download or order the report here.

Overview and Important Environmental Indicators are also available in German.

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Climate

A graph shows the trend in greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, which fell from 1,251 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 1990 to 906 million tonnes in 2016. The bars are divided into different sectors. The graph shows all target values up to 2050.
 Greenhouse gas emissions
A graph shows the deviation of the global air temperature between 1850 and 2017 from the average global air temperature from 1961 to 1990, which is taken as the baseline period. 2017 was 0.54 degrees Celsius warmer than the baseline average.
 Global surface temperature
A graph shows the number of hot days in the areal mean for 1951 to 2017. Although the trend varies greatly, the increase is clearly visible. A trend line has also been plotted on the graph which shows a significant rise.
 Hot days
A graph shows the trend for greenhouse gas emissions avoided through the use of renewables for power, heat and transport. 27.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents were avoided in 1990, and 178.65 million tonnes in 2017.
 Greenhouse gas emissions avoided through the use of renewables

Energy

A graph shows primary energy consumption (PEC) between 1990 and 2017 as well as target values for 2020 and 2050. Until 2008, the value fluctuated around 14,500 Petajoules, but has since fallen considerably.
 Energy consumption
A graph shows the building-related final energy consumption for room heating, room cooling, hot water and lighting for 2008 to 2016. The indicator decreases with fluctuation. No differentiation is shown between the individual uses.
 Energy consumption for heat
A graph shows final energy productivity from 1990 to 2016. It has been rising by 48 percent since 1990. Final energy consumption and gross domestic product are also shown.
 Energy productivity
A graph shows the share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption and gross electricity consumption. The share in gross electricity consumption rose from 6.3 percent in 2000 to 36.2 percent in 2017. The share in gross final energy consumption rose from 6.4 to 14.8 percent from 2004 to 2016.
Renewable energy
A graph shows the development of CHP net power generation from 2003 (78 terawatt hours) to 2016 (117 terawatt hours) and the targets for 2020 and 2025 according to the CHP Act.
 Combined heat and power (CHP)

Air

A graph shows the trend in emissions of five air pollutants and an overall index relative to the 2005 baseline year and between 1995 and 2015. All emissions fall significantly with the exception of ammonia. The graph indicates the targets for 2020 and 2030.
 Emission of air pollutants
A graph shows how strongly, on average, urban background levels of three main air pollutants in German agglomerations exceeded World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations between 2000 and 2016. The trend for the different pollutants varies.
 Air quality in agglomerations

Land, soil, terrestrial ecosystems

A graph in the form of a bar chart shows how many hectares of land per day in Germany were newly designated for settlements and transport infrastructure between 1993 and 2015. The chart also shows the four-year average.
 Land-take for settlements and transport infrastructure
A graph shows the undissected low-traffic areas with a minimum size of 100 km² as a percentage of Germany’s total land area for 2000, 2005 und 2010 and the target value. Due to differences in methodology, the values are not directly comparable.
 Landscape dissection
A graph shows the proportion of vulnerable ecosystems in Germany where the critical loads for eutrophication were exceeded between 1980 and 2010 and the target for 2030. In 1980 this figure was 82 percent and in 2010, 54 percent.
 Nitrogen eutrophication
A graph shows the development of the population of representative bird species for different landscapes and the development of an aggregate indicator from 1970 to 2014. The aggregate indicator decreases significantly from 107 % in 1970 to 67 % in 2014.
 Species diversity and landscape quality

Water

A graph shows the distribution of the environmental status and potential of the rivers for the years 2010 and 2015. The target for 2027 is also shown (100 percent ‘good’ or ‘very good’). In 2015, 6.7 percent showed at least a good status or good potential.
 Ecological status of rivers
A graph shows the distribution of the environmental status and potential of the lakes for the years 2010 and 2015. The target for 2027 is also shown (100 percent ‘good’ or ‘very good’). In 2015, 26.4 percent showed at least a good status or good potential.
 Ecological status of lakes
A graph shows the distribution of the environmental status of the North and Baltic Seas for the years 2010 and 2015. The target for 2027 is also shown (100 percent ‘good’ or ‘very good’).
 Ecological status of transitional and coastal waters
A graph shows the proportion of groundwater sampling sites where nitrate measurements for the years 2008 to 2014 were above 25 and 50 milligrammes per litre. In the period covered, neither sub-indicator has shown any significant change.
 Nitrate in groundwater
A graph shows the distribution of total phosphorous quality classes (QC) II-III and below for 1982 to 2016. The proportion of higher exceedance (QC IV) has dropped markedly, that of lower exceedance (II-III) has risen sharply.
 River eutrophication by phosphorus
A graph shows the change in concentration of total nitrogen in all the main rivers which enter the North Sea and Baltic Sea in Germany. For the North Sea and Baltic Sea a flow-weighted mean over all rivers is shown.
Eutrophication of the North and Baltic Seas by nitrogen
A graph shows the 5-year averages for 2003 to 2014 of the proportion of fulmars with stomachs containing over 0.1 gramme of plastic. The indicator remains at around 60 percent.
 Plastic waste in the North Sea
A graph shows the water use index for the years 1991 to 2013. Values are available for every three or four years. The index fell almost constantly and has been below the critical value of 20 per cent since 2004.
 Using water resources

Health and environment

A graph shows the number of people exposed to traffic noise above 65 decibels throughout the day in 2012 – and those exposed to over 55 decibels between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. It differentiates between road, aircraft and rail traffic noise.
 Population exposure to traffic noise
A graph shows good and sufficient bathing water quality levels for coastal and inland waters (1992 to 2016). There was a particularly strong improvement in quality in the 1990s. The 2015 target was almost achieved.
 Bathing water quality
A graph shows the number of people in Germany exposed to particulate levels (PM10) that exceed the guideline values of the World Health Organisation (WHO). It reveals that the exposure of the population fell significantly between 2007 and 2014. Areas with high levels of traffic pollution were neglected in the diagramme.
Population exposure to particulate matter pollution
A graph shows the number of premature deaths due to particulate-matter related diseases. It differentiates between cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer. The number of deaths fell between 2007 and 2015.
 Health risks due to particulate matter

Resources and waste

A graph shows the total raw material productivity plus the primary raw material inputs and the sum of gross domestic product and the value imports from 2000 to 2014 (2000 = 100).
Total raw material productivity
A graph shows the primary raw material consumption per capita for 2000 to 2014. It is divided according to different types of materials. Raw material consumption dropped over the long-term but hasn’t shown a clear direction in recent years.
 Raw material consumption
A graph shows the amount of municipal waste from 2002 to 2015. During this period the amount fell from 52.8 million tonnes to 51.6 million tonnes.
 Amount of waste – municipal waste
A graph shows the proportions of processed and recycled municipal waste in the total quantity of municipal waste from 2002 to 2015. During this period the proportion of recycled municipal waste rose from 56.1 to 66.7 percent.
 Recycling municipal waste

Transport

A graph shows final energy consumption in the transport sector between 1991 and 2014 as well as the Federal Government targets. Not only the overall consumption, but also consumption in freight and passenger transport are shown (2005 = 100).
 Energy consumption in transport
A graph shows the shares of rail and inland shipping in freight transport volume between 1999 and 2016. The share of rail transport first increased and then began to stagnate, while the share of inland shipping declined.
 Environmentally friendly freight transport
A graph shows the share of pedestrian, utility cycling, railway and passenger transport services in the overall passenger transport volume. Shown here are the years between 1976 and 2015. There have been two caesuras in methodology in this period.
 Environmentally friendly passenger transport

Agriculture and forestry

A graph shows the agricultural nitrogen surpluses for individual years and as rolling 5-year means between 1990 and 2015. The surpluses in kilogrammes per hectare per year dropped from 118 (1993) to 97 (2013).
 Agricultural nitrogen surplus
A graph shows the area of the permanent grassland as absolute value and as share of the total utilised agricultural area from 1991 to 2016. Both indicators have been steadily declining until 2013 and have since then risen slowly.
 Grasslands
A graph shows the increase of the share of organic farming areas in total utilised agricultural area from 1996 (2.1 percent) to 2016 (7.5 percent). It also shows the 20 percent target of the Federal Government.
 Organic farming
A graph shows the percentage of woodland certified under the PEFC or FSC sustainability standards from 2000 to 2016. In 2016 the PEFC covered 66.8 per cent and the FSC 10.5 per cent. The graph also shows the target for 2010.
 Sustainable forestry
A graph shows the proportion of the forested area made up of mixed stands (2, 3 or 4 species of trees) and that of pure stands (semi-natural and non semi-natural). The proportion of mixed stands rose from almost 55 percent to almost 58 percent.
 Mixed forest

Private households and consumption

A graph shows the percentage of the population actively involved in environmental protection and nature conservation or who could imagine becoming involved. In 2006 the combined figure was 51 percent, in 2016 it fell to 40 percent.
 Commitment to environmental protection
A graph shows the direct and indirect energy use and CO2 emissions of private households in 2000, 2005 and from 2007 to 2014. The energy use is divided into five areas of demand.
 Energy use and CO₂ emissions in private households
A graph shows the market shares of products with official eco-labelling. Between 2012 and 2015 this figure rose from 3.6 percent to 7.6 percent. In 2030 this figure is set to rise to 34 percent.
 Environmentally friendly consumption

Environment and economy

A graph shows the trend for primary energy consumption in the manufacturing industry and the proportion of gross value-added (price-adjusted) between 1995 to 2014. In 1995, energy consumption amounted to 3,744 Petajoules and 3,866 Petajoules in 2014.
 Energy consumption in manufacturing
A graph shows greenhouse gas emissions and price-adjusted gross value-added between 1995 and 2014. Greenhouse gas emissions fell from 234,834 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 1995 to 172,218 million tonnes in 2014. Gross value-added increased.
 Greenhouse gas emissions in industry
A graph shows the development of environmental costs energy generation and road transport between 2008 and 2014. They were 138.3 billion euros in 2008 and 130.1 billion in 2014.
 Environmental costs of energy and road transport
A graph shows the value of environmental protection goods produced between 2009 and 2015 as well as the share of these goods in the overall industrial production.
 Environmental protection goods
A graph shows the workforce in environmental protection and their share in the overall workforce for 2002 until 2012 – in two-year-steps. The share was 5.2 per cent in 2012, whereas it was only 3.7 in 2002.
 Employment in environmental protection
A graph shows the development of environmental taxes for 1995 (40.2 billion euros) to 2016 (57.6 billion euros) and their share of total tax revenues in the public budgets.
 Taxes related to the environment
A graph shows the development of EMAS-certified organisations in Germany between 2005 and 2017, sorted by number of organisations, sites and employees. The target of the Sustainability Strategy (5,000 sites by 2030) is also shown.
 Environmental management
A graph shows the national welfare index (NWI) and gross domestic product (2000 = 100) for the years between 1991 and 2014. Since 2000, the NWI fell by 6 per cent, while GDP rose by 17 per cent.
 National Welfare Index