After 10 years, a census will take place again in the Czech Republic. The nationwide event will begin at midnight on Friday and last until May 11. In the first two weeks, people will fill in their data electronically. Those who do not will be able to fill out a printed form after April 17.
At a press conference, the Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), Marek Rojíček, assured people that the census procedure has been thoroughly tested several times, cybersecurity is strong, and the collected data will be stored in the Czech Republic.
“We tried to design the census to be as considerate to citizens as possible in terms of the number and sensitivity of the questions, as well as the method used for the census,” said Rojíček.
The census is mandatory. All 10.7 million inhabitants of the Czech Republic have to participate. Compared to the last census in 2011, there will be about half the amount of data to fill in this year, as statisticians will get a lot of information from official registers.
In addition to the Czech language, the electronic questionnaire will be available in English, German, Polish, Russian, Romani, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
“The average time to fill it out is 15 minutes. We estimate that people will spend 10 minutes on questions about their housing situation and five minutes on personal questions,” the ČSÚ head specified.
Questions about housing cover, for example, the size of one’s apartment or the number of rooms it has. In the personal information section, people will state their place of residence and details about employment, education and commuting.
According to statisticians, the electronic form is fairly easy to use, as respondents will not have to list all the answers but choose from pre-selected choices. Those who do not fill in the online questionnaire will be able to get the census in a printed format at most post offices or will be visited by a Census Commissioner, who will give them the relevant document.
Based on a study by the Czech Statistical Office, seven out of 10 Czechs plan to send their data electronically.
Title image: People crowd an open-air market in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
