The main rehearsal of the population census continues with phone interviews

The test questionnaire sample includes a total of thousand addresses, and answers were received on the web from slightly less than half of these. According to Liina Osila, Statistics Estonia’s project manager for the population and housing census, the inteviewers’ task is to identify the share of addresses in the sample where no-one lives and collect answers from the addresses where the residents did not participate in the online test survey.

“Answering on the web was highest in Harju county, with 554 addresses in the survey sample. In the case of 167 of these, we received answers about all the persons living there. The questionnaire was started at another 106 Harju county addresses in the sample. However, answers from these addresses were not submitted about all household members, and therefore, interviewers will contact the people who live there,” said Osila.

Answers to the online questionnaire were collected from at least a fifth of the sampled addresses in Tartu, Rapla, Jõgeva and Võru counties. The share of answers received online was lower in Ida-Viru, Lääne-Viru and Viljandi counties. “In several cases, the response rate might have been lower because the sample covers areas with summer homes, and the next stage of the survey should give a final answer about whether there are year-round residents or not,” added the census project manager.

Everyone living in Estonia could answer to the test questionnaire in the online survey platform of Statistics Estonia. Some people filled in the questionnaire out of curiosity and without receiving a notification. “Actually, we received answers on the web about more than 2,000 persons. We are especially grateful to the people who gave us feedback about the questions as well as about the additional information provided for questions. We’ll review the submitted ideas, and if something should be changed, we will certainly make the necessary corrections by the time of the census,” added Osila.

The purpose of the population census test survey is to go through all the steps necessary during the big census. Both in the test survey and in the census itself, the questions concern the current place of residence, knowledge of languages and dialects, religion and limitations due to health problems. Each adult responds about oneself. Parents can answer about minors living in the household, and children 15-years-old and older can answer to the questionnaire themselves.

The census moment of the Population and Housing Census 2021 in Estonia is at 00.00 on 31 December 2021. All the census data must be sumitted about the census moment irrespective of the time and mode of answering. The data collection starts with the census moment and continues in early 2022.