In 2022, Destatis and the regional statistical offices in Germany conducted the nationwide Time Use Survey (ZVE2022) using the Zeitverwendung application (the ZVE2022 app). It was the first time respondents were able to use an app to participate to the German Time Use Study. A recent article in Wirtschaft und Statistik (WISTA, Issue 5/2025) presents new methodological insights from the German Time Use Survey.
The ZVE2022 is a household-based study that includes all household members aged 10 years and older. Participants were asked to complete a time diary for three days (two weekdays and one weekend day), fill out an individual questionnaire, and, at the household level, respond to a separate household questionnaire.
The app was built on the MOTUS data collection platform, developed by the Belgian company hbits, a spin-off of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
For the first time in the history of the German Time Use Survey, participants could complete their time diaries digitally via this new Zeitverwendung application or via paper-and-pencil within an online-first strategy. This new approach marked a major step in the digital transformation of official time use statistics in Germany as previous survey waves had been conducted exclusively on paper.
The MOTUS app as it looked it 2022.
A recent article in WISTA (Wirtschaft und Statistik, Issue 5/2025) presents interesting methodological findings:
Read the article here (German)
It is recommended to read the full article, including the accompanying graphs, to gain a complete understanding of the findings. However, some key takeaways include:
Key Insights
- Participation:
9,764 households and 19,407 individuals submitted usable time diaries.
Of these, 74.5% (14,229 people) used the app, while 25.5% (5,178) used paper diaries — showing a high acceptance of the digital mode.
- User Patterns:
The app was especially popular among younger participants and newly recruited households.
Dropout rates were about twice as high for app users as for paper users (36% vs. 18%), but are more likely due to selection effects rather than technical problems.
- Mixed-Mode Value:
The study shows the benefit of combining app and paper diaries. Different groups prefer different modes, and offering both improves representativeness — particularly the app helped reach families with children and hard-to-reach populations more effectively.
- Data Quality:
Paper participants reported more activity changes (greater detail), even after selection effects.
However, while the app appears to affect data granularity, overal daily activity patterns and time allocation remained consistent across both modes. Nonetheless, this provides valuable insight for future improvements to the app’s diary module.
- Implementation:
The MOTUS backoffice played an important role in facilitating close coordination between federal and regional statistical offices, which was essential to the project’s success. Additionally, process metadata proved valuable for both monitoring and support throughout the project.
Looking Ahead
The German Household Budget Survey 2023 (EVS 2023) also used the platform, via the Einkommen & Verbrauch app (EVS2023 app). And the same applies to the Wirtschaftsrechnung app (LWR app) collecting data for 2024 and onwards.
The MOTUS platform continues to evolve — improving usability, adding functionality and expanding to new statistical domains.
Conclusion
The ZVE2022 Time Use Survey marks an important step in the digital transition of household surveys in Germany, making use of a thoughtful online-first, mixed-mode strategy.
