Enumerators of the Baltic States will be gathering in Tallinn

The Baltic Census Seminar taking place on 12 and 13 November focuses on organising the 2011 Population and Housing Census (PHC 2011) and on the issues related to the transfer to register-based census in the future. “The main topic of the first day of the seminar is the use of state databases for the census and creating the necessary conditions for the transfer to register-based census. The second day focuses on the problems of how to present the census results to the users of statistics”, Diana Beltadze, the PHC 2011 Project Manager of Statistics Estonia, remarked.

At the seminar the enumerators of the Baltic States will be giving overviews about the preparatory work and plans of the 2011 Census in all the three countries. “The Census is an enormous undertaking in each country, that is the reason why it is useful to share experiences and exchange information with the neighbours”, Beltadze said.

In addition to the employees of statistical offices of the three countries, also the researchers of the University of Tartu and representatives of the Statistical Office of the European Communities from Luxembourg will be participating in the seminar. Mr Harald Utne from Statistics Norway will make a report about Norway’s experiences in organising register-based censuses.

The annual Baltic Census Seminar that is organised in turn by the Baltic States will take place for the 12th time this year.

The next Population and Housing Census in Estonia will be conducted in 2011 and while organising the census, Statistics Estonia is planning to use e-census for the first time in the history of Estonian censuses. The e-census enables the residents of Estonia and those who are temporarily staying abroad to submit the data electronically. As previously, it is also possible to present the data to the enumerator during the face-to-face interview. The main census taking place in 2011 will be preceded by the pilot census in ten regions of Estonia in October 2009, in the course of which the methodology and software worked out for the main census will be tested.

The exact time and Census moment of the 2011 main census will be specified by the Government of the Republic on the proposal of the Minister of Finance.