Population projection

On 25 August 2022, the municipal statistics office of the City of Chemnitz presented the population forecast for 2035 and calculated two boundary variants that span a corridor in which the population is expected to grow in the coming years up to 2035.

Based on a population of 243,646 inhabitants with their main residence in Chemnitz at the end of 2021, the projection now leads to a population of 242,500 inhabitants in the upper boundary variant and 227,500 inhabitants in the lower boundary variant for the year 2035 under the assumptions made.

The large margin of around 15,000 inhabitants shows the great dynamism and uncertainty that characterise the current demographic development.

Goal: Reduce outward migration

Mayor Ralph Burghart:"As a result of this projection, the City of Chemnitz sees it as a priority task to reduce out-migration, particularly in the area of educational migration and the out-migration of young families. At the same time, it will focus its efforts on increasing inward migration by further strengthening its position and offering as an attractive business, science, residential and living location."


To this end, the first step is to gain insights into young people's motives for staying in or leaving the city by conducting surveys among Chemnitz school students who are faced with the decision of what their future life path should look like and whether they are looking for or see their future centre of life in the city or elsewhere. A similar survey is also planned among students at Chemnitz University.

In addition, a survey is being prepared among the companies based in Chemnitz, which will focus on an assessment of the city as a "business, science and residential/living location Chemnitz".

In summary, the aim will be to promote Chemnitz

• as a centre of science (e.g. development and establishment of attractive training opportunities, e.g. through further development of the university),
• as a business location (e.g. by creating attractive, qualified job opportunities, creating/offering suitable framework conditions and developing the location factors that make Chemnitz an attractive industrial location for business relocations) and
• as a residential and living location (e.g. by expanding attractive housing offers; providing interesting leisure activities, creating a social living and residential environment)

to further establish Chemnitz as a place to live.

Last but not least, one objective is to provide suitable building land in order to counteract the exodus of young families to the surrounding area and instead offer them opportunities in the city.

Natural population development

One of the key components for the development of the population is the difference between births and deaths, the natural balance. The developments of the early 1990s in particular have had an impact here to this day.

The slump in births in the early 1990s combined with a high outflow of mainly young people from the city meant that the city lost around 25,000 inhabitants between 1994 and 1998, mainly among those under 50 at the time.

Migration trends

The natural "shrinking" of the population can only be compensated for by population growth resulting from migration.

The migration of residents with foreign citizenship in recent years has been characterised by a high degree of randomness, both in terms of the size of the influx and its regional origin, for example through labour migration within the European Union, migration flows as a result of the global political situation and the occurrence of crisis or disaster situations.

The analysis of migration behaviour from 2011 to 2021 has shown that the outflow of the population with German citizenship from Chemnitz primarily had two main directions: on the one hand, the cities of Dresden and Leipzig and, on the other, the cities and municipalities in the immediate vicinity of Chemnitz.