Who will be enumerated during the Census?

All persons, irrespective of their ethnicity and citizenship, whose place of usual residence is in Estonia, will be enumerated during the 2011 Population and Housing Census. The census will also enumerate the persons who are not permanent residents of Estonia, but who (as at the census moment) have been living or intend to live in Estonia for 3 months or more.

Place of usual residence (habitual residence, permanent place of residence) is usually the place of residence, where a person spends most of his/her daily rest and sleep time. It may differ from registered place of residence.

A person’s place of usual residence is in Estonia if

1) he/she has continuously lived in Estonia for at least 12 months before 31 December 2011, or
2) he/she has settled to live in Estonia before 31 December 2011 and intends to stay here for at least one year.

A person’s usual place of residence is also in Estonia in case he/she has been temporarily away from Estonia during the year 2011 due to work or holidays or for some other reason, but he/she intends to return to live permanently in Estonia.

Thus, the following persons are considered to be permanent residents of Estonia and will be enumerated

• persons who work away from home for more than 12 months but spend most of their days off with their households in Estonia (household is a group of people usually living in a common dwelling, who share available household facilities, incl. common budget);
• regular members of military or naval forces and the diplomatic staff of the Republic of Estonia and their family members who live with them, who are in a foreign country at the moment of census (their place of residence in Estonia is considered to be a place of residence. In exceptional cases, if the said persons do not have a dwelling in Estonia at the moment of census (e.g., they have sold it), the place of residence is noted as the name of the settlement (city, town, small town or village) in Estonia;
• pupils of general education school who are staying in foreign countries as exchange pupils, but whose parents live in Estonia;
• students and pupils of post-secondary vocational educational institutions who study in a foreign country less than 12 months (e.g. as exchange students) and thereafter return to Estonia.

Permanent residents of Estonia, who are in a foreign country during the census, can complete the census questionnaire on the Internet between 31 December 2011 and 31 January 2012.

The following are not permanent residents of Estonia:

• Estonian citizens and persons of Estonian origin, who have lived or worked in a foreign country for over 12 months and do not spend the majority of their days off with their household in Estonia (incl. persons who do not have an household in Estonia);
• higher education and post-secondary vocational students, who study in a foreign country for at least 12 months.

The relatives of these persons in Estonia can let them be enumerated during the census as persons who have left Estonia.

Persons who have left Estonia

The 2011 census is also used to collect data on persons, who have left Estonia after the previous census of 2000. These people are not enumerated as permanent residents of Estonia, but data on them has to be collected in order to clarify the extent of external migration and the size of Estonian population. In order for the information on people, who have left Estonia over the last decade, to be as accurate as possible, all Estonian residents are asked to provide information on their close relatives (father, mother, child, former or current spouse/partner, sister or brother), who are no longer permanent residents of Estonia.

In addition, the following persons are not permanent residents of Estonia, either:

• Foreign diplomatic staff and diplomatic staff of consular representations in Estonia and their family members;
• Persons serving in foreign military or naval forces in Estonia and their family members.