As has become almost an annual tradition, in June the City of Brno’s data portal posted data from 2023 regarding various aspects of life in Brno, summarising information about the city’s economy, population, environment, public services, education and free time in the form of simple infographics, graphs and accompanying texts.
Some of the data was presented in an outdoor exhibition on Mendlovo náměstí in June. In addition, just as last year, the municipal data scientists prepared an online encryption game (in Czech) inspired by some of the most remarkable stats.
“The year 2023 was calm in terms of numbers, without shocking data,” said City Councillor Petr Borecký. “Some data are returning to pre-pandemic levels, and the conflict in Ukraine still has a significant impact on demographic statistics. Thanks to the fact that we monitor and evaluate data continuously, we can react not only to current events, but also observe long-term trends. In this way, we can predict several things and prepare for the future.”
Regarding the city’s demography, despite the fact that official statistics based on permanent residence greatly underestimate the number of inhabitants in Brno, the city’s population exceeded 400,000 for the first time, according to the Czech Statistical Office, with an official total of 400,566.
The increase in this number is due mainly to migration, especially the influx of new residents from Ukraine, while, on the contrary, the number of newborn children is now characterised by a sharp downward curve – 3,828 children were born in Brno in 2023, the lowest number since 2004.
In addition, many people commute to work in the city each morning, bringing the daily total to around half a million, according to analysis of data from mobile phone operators, before emptying out at the weekend to around 300,000. On an average working day, about 30,000 people pass through the city centre (based on data collected on Masarykova).
Compared to previous years, the number of marriages (1,921 down from 2,043 a year earlier) and divorces (627 down from 659 in 2022) also fell. The number of deaths (4,041) returned to similar levels as before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of university students is stable at around 65,000, similar to the number of registered foreigners in Brno (63,680).
On the economic side, the average gross monthly salary grew and exceeded the CZK 50,000 mark for the first time, while there remains a stable difference of CZK 15,000 between men’s and women’s salaries. The share of unemployed people has been oscillating around 5% for several years, while the number of job vacancies has been steadily decreasing; there are now two job seekers for each vacancy.
Foreign direct investment in Brno has been growing in recent years. The local gastronomy sector shows good economic performance, though the bad news for residents is that the average prices of meals are almost comparable to Prague.
Even though the sale prices of apartments stagnated in 2023, they are now rising again steadily, and have reached an average price of CZK 110,000 per square metre. Rental housing prices have stagnated after growing in previous years. 1,918 new apartments were completed, the highest number since 2007. The construction of 2,170 new apartments was also started.
One of the challenges for the city is the ever-increasing mobility of the population, which was reduced in previous years by pandemic-related restrictions, but is now increasing even more. The number of registered motor vehicles continues to grow significantly, with almost 6,000 new cars registered each year. In Brno, there are 591 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, including children.
Regarding the climate, in 2023, the average temperature in Brno rose by 0.3 Celsius to 11.5°. Last year also saw more rain than the previous year, with a total annual precipitation of 564 mm. The air in the city is relatively clean, with most pollution limits met.
