Historical Ifo Business Cycle Time Series

The Ifo Business Climate is one of the most important indices for German economic activity. The results of the Ifo Business Survey have been published for over 60 years: since 1949 for manufacturing, since 1950 for wholesaling and retailing, and since 1956 for construction. The data from the first surveys are largely not available electronically. Data on Germany as a whole is currently available from various providers as of 1991. For (economic)-historical analyses, however, it is often helpful to consult time series that go back in time even further. Such data can be used as a proxy for missing official data on production or sales, for example. Based on the tables in previous issues of the ifo Schnelldienst, as well as the ifo Konjunkturperspektiven, historical time series for the current business situation, expectations and business climate dating back to the 1960s have been digitalised and made available in the form of Excel spreadsheets. The historical Ifo economic activity time series can be requested by sending an email to the following address: umfragedaten@ifo.de.