There is plenty of microdata on Germany, but much of it is limited to particular applications. The best sources I know of are the GSOEP and the Campus files. There are moves to make more data available as public or scientific use files; some datasets are available on-site at the national and state statistical offices. Let me know if you have additions.
- Bundesagentur fuer Arbeit im IAB, Forschungsdatenzentrum
- Microdata on labor issues (employees and firms; some datasets are linked, some are panels)
- Subset of files available from 1975
- Federal Health Monitoring System (GBE-Bund)
- Health data and statistics for Germany
- Combines various sources, but only provides aggregate data
- Website has English-language section
- German Social Science Infrastructure Services (GESIS)
- Features an archive of data and documentation, mainly on political science and elections
- German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP)
- Main longitudinal socio-economic survey, has a comprehensive English user guide
- Started in 1984 with now 12,000 households. Nationally representative
- Includes information on household consumption, occupations, employment, earnings, health and satisfaction
- (Information on health and insurance status is limited)
- Kooperative Gesundheitsforschung in der Region Augsburg (KORA)
- Probably the only long-term health survey in Germany
- Focus is on epidemiology and public health
- Luxemburg Income Study (LIS)
- Combines national surveys on income, wealth and employment that can be used for cross-section studies (i.e. these are not panels)
- Covers 30 countries in 4 continents. LIS harmonizes and standardizes the data
- Registered users can send in programs to use the data remotely
- Statistische Aemter des Bundes und der Laender
- Wide range of microdata from the official data collection agency, available as public-use files or scientific-use files and on-site use
- The CAMPUS data (a 3.5% sample of the 1998 microcensus) is directly available for download. You can also get a microcensus panel from 1996-1999 as scientific-use file or for on-site analysis
- Some of the data has information on health; there is also good information on hospitals