25 March 2021

At midnight from Friday 26 March to Saturday 27 March, the 2021 Population and Housing Census will start. For the first time in our history, it has been prepared primarily as an Online Census. To get counted, one can use the online form or the mobile application. Those who will not get counted online will receive the paper census form (questionnaire) from a census officer (census enumerator) in the second half of April.

“When preparing the Census, we have used existing registers of state authorities to a maximum extent and we only ask in the Census about what we cannot find out in another way. We have modified the way the Census will take place so that it is as safe as possible despite the current pandemic,” Marek Rojíček, President of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), says.   

It will be possible for citizens of the Czech Republic and foreigners with the permanent or temporary residence for over 90 days in the Czech Republic to get counted from Saturday 27 March 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 the mobile application available in Google Play and the 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 the web interface or the mobile application. You just need identity papers (ID, passport, or, in the case of foreigners, an ID document issued by the Czech Republic to foreigners) and date of birth. You can also log in via a data box or via your electronic identity (eidentita.cz), for example, by means of your banking identity or your electronic identity card.

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. It is also possible to fill in the census form for other household members in the comfort of your own home. You can also help other family members or your relatives and friends who are not capable of filling in the electronic census form by themselves fill in the online census form (questionnaire) when you have agreed upon that.

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. Acquired personal data will not be provided to anybody; they will be completely anonymised, erased, or destroyed. It means that they are used for basic identification while collecting information, however, afterwards they will be separated from the other data that are essential for compilation of statistics. “The Census results will only be published in a summarised form that will not make it possible to identify natural persons. Data acquired for statistical purposes are not and cannot be made accessible in any way to other entities, not even to state authorities or public authorities. It is a basic principle of functioning of official statistics that is valid internationally. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for provision of any piece of data to cause any sanction, disadvantage, detriment, or damage to anybody,” Marek Rojíček explains.   

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 (Info Lines): 253 253 683 and 840 30 40 50. However, one can also ask the Contact Centre questions by sending an e-mail to dotazy@scitani.cz or via chat in a virtual advisory centre for the 2021 Census.

The Population and Housing Census is carried out once in ten years in order to acquire precise and up-to-date data that serve to make planning of many aspects of the public life more effective. The Census is organised by the Czech Statistical Office, an independent and apolitical authority. 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