In the spring of next year, the Czechs will again fill in the Census questionnaires on paper and electronically. Compulsory data will be almost halved compared to the census ten years ago, and it will be easier to fill it in online. The statisticians will for the most part include data from the state, they will also use the expanding digitization. They estimate that 60 percent of people will choose the electronic version of the census.
“This time we make maximum use of state data and basic records. For example, thanks to the real estate register, a whole form has been dropped,” said Marek Rojíček, chairman of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), about the changes in the census. Together, statisticians will use nine registers, including data from the Ministry of Education and Labor or the Czech Social Security Administration.
They will not find out statistics or property relations of people, the equipment of the apartment with a bathroom or toilet or the state of health. They will be mainly interested in basic data on the date of birth, gender, nationality, housing, education, occupation, commuting or religion. According to statisticians, it should take an average of 15 minutes for one person to complete the form.
The Czechs will have access to the electronic form from March 27, and will have until April 9 to process it. “Using a special website or a mobile application. Last time it was necessary to get the letter form first. Only with the help of the code written on it was it possible to fill in its online version,” described the director of the CZSO Population Statistics Department, Robert Šanda.
Most people fill out the questionnaire online, they trust statisticians
According to a Median survey, statisticians estimate the use of online questionnaires in censuses at 60 percent of people in the entire country. However, the chairman of the CZSO expects an even higher number. “This is a relatively conservative estimate. It has been a few years since the survey was prepared and digitization has shifted,” Marek Rojíček told Aktuálně.cz.
He added that more people have learned to use online tools due to the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, he also hopes that the number of Czechs who will use the online census will be as high as possible. Ten years ago, only 25 percent of the population used electronic options.
The Czechs will connect to the form using either an electronic identity or a data box. “However, if they do not have access to any of the options, the statistics will allow them to log in after entering a valid document and date of birth,” said Roman Knap, CEO of the Czech Post, which also participates in the census.
On the website www.scitani.cz people will be able to fill in the data both for themselves and for the family with which they live. However, they will not be able to create a separate form for children. Some questions, such as religion, will be open, but others will offer pre-selected options. For example, in the case of questions asking about completed education or place of residence.
In the case of gender choice, there are still traditionally two options to choose from. “However, we primarily take data from the register of inhabitants and foreigners. The query is therefore necessary mainly for the identification of the population and the interconnection of individual data,” explained the director of the Department of Population Statistics, Robert Šanda.
The onslaught of users is said to withstand the servers
According to statistics, all data will be secured in cooperation with the Office for Personal Data Protection. “After processing, we will delete them, so it will not be possible to misuse them in the future,” said the CZSO chairman. The statistics will be stored on the servers of the State Treasury and the Shared Services Center.
“They have the most secure cyberspace in the Czech Republic,” Rojíček described, adding that two systems will work during the census. One, which will have the greatest impact, will collect data and the other, the census information system, will store and process it. Therefore, according to Rojíček, the influx of users will withstand the servers.
“The system is dimensioned so that in the event of a larger increase in users, other resources can be involved. Thanks to the cloud solution, unused capacities of other servers can be added, which will not be busy at that moment and will manage the peak,” added Rojíček.
According to the director of the Department of Population Statistics, only about ten people will work with accurate data. However, after processing the results, the data will be anonymized. All employees who come into contact with the form must then take an oath of secrecy.
The paper questionnaire does not expire. It can also be handed in at the post office by letter
If someone still wants to follow the traditional way, they will be able to fill out a paper form from April 17 to May 11. The break between the various census options serves to better plan the Commissioners’ visits.
“However, those who do not want to use their services can come to the contact point, ie a selected branch of the Czech Post,” Šanda added, adding that the questionnaire can also be sent by post. In special districts, such as hospitals, barracks, prisons and social facilities, the commissioners, ie employees of the statistical office, will be counting.
Otherwise, the commissioner will be provided by the Czech Post. “Less than 10,000 of them will be involved, we will all equip the necessary equipment and applications for the census,” said director Knap. Then 1200 post offices will be involved in the project and the Czechs will find the forms at 800 branches.
Everyone will have to choose one of the CZSO’s options, as non-compliance with the obligation to fill in the form is punishable by a fine of 10,000 crowns. Also for this reason, each questionnaire has a barcode with which statisticians will monitor its status. “We will know that he was taken from the apartment, taken away by the commissioner or registered at the Czech Post branch,” added the director of the department.
The project budget should be slightly reduced due to the changes introduced. At present, it amounts to 2.1 billion, but according to Rojíček, the amount is divided into several years. “The most expensive part is field work, which cannot be reduced too much,” the CZSO chairman explained. According to statistics, the benefit of the upcoming adjustments is also ecological, as a large amount of paper will be saved.
The results will be published by statistics at the turn of 2021 and 2022. The evaluation takes at least several months.
The data is used by municipalities, companies and rescuers
Last week, according to Rojíček, the law on the census was successfully published, another milestone remains the trial census during September. This will only apply to 25,000 households pre-selected. “Before we get started, we need to try out the processes and tools for collaboration,” he said.
Participation in the pilot census is voluntary. The selected households are evenly represented throughout the republic, so as to include villages and towns of various sizes. “Households will be informed by the commissioner. He will put a leaflet into the house stating that a trial census will take place in a specific house,” Šanda described.
According to Rojíček, the advantage of the census is the maximum territorial detail. Unlike other statistics, this summarizes information for municipalities and parts of municipalities. “Once in a while, it is necessary to refine the picture and find out what is the structure of society, households, but also houses and apartments,” he said.
The data then serves municipalities, companies, the state and the residents themselves. “The census is not just a census, it is basic data on economic activity, education, nationality, commuting and the structure of society,” he added, adding that the data would be available free of charge to everyone.
For example, an integrated rescue system for mapping local risk will be able to use them. “Data on commuting to and from school or work are also very valuable. This is related to the optimization of regional traffic, noise maps or flood control plans,” Rojíček added.
The census has a historical tradition in the Czech lands, the first dates come from 1869. One hundred years have passed since the first modern Czechoslovak census in 1921 next year. “It usually adds up in years ending in zero or one. We are not alone in this, it is a globally organized matter,” Rojíček said.
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