structural development

The mood in Lusatia is significantly better than in previous years - positive trends in the perception of the population - structural change is becoming noticeable

Lausitz Monitor shows that the mood in Lausitz is perceived by the population as significantly more positive than in previous years. Despite challenges such as inflation, the energy transition and international conflicts, satisfaction with one's personal life situation remains stable. Almost 60 percent of the 1,000 Lusatians surveyed are optimistic about the future.

38 percent emphasize that their situation has improved. A majority of 58 percent are optimistic about the future, while 32 percent are not. In detail, the recently published Lausitz Monitor shows that one in five Lusatians is dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. 22 percent say their situation has worsened in the past five years.  

Attractiveness of the region and economic prospects: positive mood

Almost three quarters of those surveyed (73 percent) see Lusatia as an attractive holiday region, and almost two thirds (64 percent) as an attractive residential region.

However, Lusatia is not (yet) perceived as an attractive economic region, with only 36 percent taking this view. 27 percent of Lusatians see future-proof jobs as the biggest challenge. 20 percent consider the expansion of transport routes and digitalization to be urgent (read everything about the work of the task force on the Lausitz 2030+ mobility vision and also about our project for the multimodal, digital being implemented for the first time in Kodersdorf ).

Clearly outlined with many strong partners: the public transport of the near future

Energy transition and coal phase-out

New and pleasing: in Lusatia, the traditional but also future energy region, there is a high level of support for the expansion of renewable energies. Support for solar energy (80 percent) is particularly high, followed by geothermal energy (69 percent), wind energy (61 percent), bioenergy (67 percent) and green hydrogen (61 percent). However, acceptance of the energy transition has decreased: while 49 percent agreed in the previous survey, it is now only 42 percent. At the same time, rejection rose from 36 to 41 percent.

A clear majority of Lusatians (71 percent) reject an early phase-out of coal, as does politics.

The task force's development priorities are aligned with those of the Free State - sustainability always plays an important role

Positive developments on the labor market and in the region

Although issues such as the labor market situation, health care and increased living costs continue to concern people, the Free State's five development priorities, which the ENO Structural Development Task Force is also guided by, are having a positive effect. Health, energy, mobility & IT, tourism & livable regions as well as circular economy & bioeconomy are considered important by a large majority and help to overcome structural weaknesses.

Health in focus

The development of Lusatia as a health region is particularly important to every second respondent (51 percent), while 38 percent tourism as a focus. Health - a topic that we at ENO are promoting intensively and innovatively Lausitz Vital " project, but also most recently with " Care Plus

There is also an encouraging trend in emigration : just under one in ten residents of Lusatia are now considering moving away in the next two years. Clearly, this number is falling thanks to increased optimism and tangible progress in the transformation process.

For over 80 percent, moving away from the region is out of the question. In addition, nine out of ten Lusatians emphasize their strong connection to the region #Unzahlbarland .

Thomas Schmidt , State Minister for Regional Development, summarizes: “This year's surveys in the Lusatian region show that the measures for structural development are working and that people are predominantly optimistic about the future. What is particularly pleasing is the increase in satisfaction with one's personal living situation and the positive image of the region. It is important to continue to support this positive trend and drive forward structural change together .”

We are pleased about this appreciation and have nothing to add. We'll just carry on and look forward to you joining in too! Here you can find our popular citizen participation formats to make your voice heard in the development of the region. We look forward to the good news and to your input!

Best regards!

Your task force

Since 2020, the MAS Society for Market Analysis out the representative population study “Lausitz and Central Germany Monitor”. In addition to the Saxon Agency for Structural Development ( SAS Structural Change Office of the State of Saxony-Anhalt and the European Metropolitan Region of Central Germany are taking part . record the population's perception of the structural change caused by the coal phase-out