Same-Sex Couples in the German Microcensus as of 2020

Abstract

Since the redesign of the German Microcensus in 2020, it is no longer possible to reliably identify same-sex couples, and official statistics no longer report figures on their prevalence. The tool provided by GESIS for identifying same-sex couples in the Scientific Use Files of the Microcensus has also been discontinued for the time being. This report outlines the extent and causes of these identification issues. Using the Scientific Use Files of the German Microcensus, the prevalence of same-sex couples is estimated and compared over time and across the life course of (synthetic) cohorts. A clear break is observed in 2020, due to methodological changes in the collection and processing of data on sex. Hypothetical example calculations demonstrate that even minimal changes in data on sex can lead to a significant increase in the (small) number of same-sex couples. Methodological adjustments indicate that same-sex couples can be identified more reliably again from the 2024 Microcensus onwards.