16 March 2021

The upcoming Population and Housing Census brings an ideal opportunity to fill in census forms (questionnaires) in a simple and safe way online on a computer or a mobile phone. According to a survey, about 70% of the population wants to get counted this way. What are the benefits of an online Census?

Simplicity and speed

“Getting counted online will provide many advantages to all who get counted that way. It will be simple, fast, and with guidance, it will protect your personal data, you can fill in the census form (questionnaire) for all family members and, most of all, it will be contactless and therefore the safest possible as for health,” Marek Rojíček, President of the Czech Statistical Office, summarises.

Although during the 2021 Census everybody will also have an opportunity to get counted by means of a printed/paper census form (questionnaire), getting counted online is emphasised. The only prerequisite for getting counted online is to have access to the Internet; nowadays, over 80% of the population have access to the Internet. According to a survey carried out for the CZSO by the Kantar agency, 71% of the respondents are planning to get counted online; according to the STEM/MARK agency, it is 67%.

It will be possible to get counted online from 27 March 2021 from a computer, a tablet, or a mobile phone, either by means of an electronic census form (questionnaire) on the www.scitani.cz website or via a mobile application available from the beginning of the Census in Google Play and App Store – the application is called “Sčítání21” (“Census21”). It will be easy to sign in (log in) into the electronic census form (questionnaire) either via a web interface or a mobile application. To sign in (log in), you need identity papers (ID or passport) and date of birth. You can also log in via a data box or via your banking and electronic identity (NIA).

It will be simple, it will contain guidance, and it will also be much faster to fill in the online census form (questionnaire) compared to the printed/paper census form. For a four-member household, it will take about 30 minutes to fill in the online census form. Guidance for filling in is an integral part of each question. However, a respondent also has the possibility to send a link to other members of the household and he/she can save an incomplete form (questionnaire) while filling it in with his/her own password and return to it again. One can also use the services of a chatbot (Czech only) while filling in the online census form. It is also an advantage of the online Census that the electronic census form (questionnaire) shows only those questions that are related to a specific user. The autocomplete function for some data is also time saving. For example, when you provide your birth identification number (“rodné číslo” in Czech), the electronic census form (questionnaire) does not ask you for the number of your identity card and it automatically fills in whether you are a man or a woman.       

Informational support

From 12 March, informational support for the upcoming Census and help for the public with filling in of census forms (questionnaires) is provided by the 2021 Census Contact Centre. The Centre is operating daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays at the following phone numbers: 840 30 40 50 and 253 253 683. However, you can also ask questions via e-mail to dotazy@scitani.cz or via chat in a virtual advisory centre for the 2021 Census.

Contactlessness and possibility to fill in even for other family members

“The Online Census is also an ideal alternative in terms of protection against the coronavirus spread, because it will be possible to get counted without any contact with census officers (census enumerators). That’s because one does not have to go anywhere, to meet anybody, to take over or to hand over census forms (questionnaires), and to be afraid of potential infection,” Marek Rojíček, President of the Czech Statistical Office, adds. Moreover, you can fill in the census form (questionnaire) in a simple and safe way comfortably from your home even for other members of your household – be they your family members or older relatives. You can thus get counted online even when you are quarantined.

Security and protection  

Security and protection while filling in the electronic census form (questionnaire) is ensured by a technical solution that complies with strict security standards and related legal standards. The CZSO uses a maximally secure software solution and information systems located in a highly secure environment.

The Population and Housing Census is carried out once every ten years with the aim to obtain precise and up-to-date data that serve to make planning of many aspects of the public life more effective. The 2021 Census is prepared primarily as an online Census for the first time in our history. The Census is organised by the Czech Statistical Office, an independent and apolitical authority, that collects and publishes data from the following domains: demography, economy, health, labour market and social security, culture, sport, tourism, education, and the environment. Since 1990, it has been processing and publishing results of all elections. The main principles of work of the CZSO are as follows: Independence, Impartiality, Objectivity, Accuracy and Reliability, Same information to everybody at the same time, Protection of confidential data. In 2020, 61% of the population trusted the Czech Statistical Office and thus it belongs to the most trustworthy institutions in the country, according to the Public Opinion Research Centre.

Contact:
Jolana Voldánová
2021 Census spokeswoman
Mobile phone number: +420 704 659 357
e-mail: jolana.voldanova@scitani.cz