The pilot Census of PHC 2011 came to an end

The objective of the pilot Census of 2011 of PHC 2011 was to test the methodology of the Census, the established informational systems and the general arrangement of the Census. “According to the preliminary data, it can be stated that the Census was a success. It was pleasant to see the positive reaction of the residents of the pilot Census regions and local governments and their readiness to contribute to the Census,” said Ms Diana Beltadze, the Project Manager of PHC 2011. “We have received a lot of positive feedback from the people participating in the pilot Census. It is a great help for preparing the Population and Housing Census 2011 and we are very grateful to the people for that,” added Ms Beltadze.

According to Ms Beltadze, the enumeration area had to be restricted in some regions during the pilot Census, as there were more people than expected. At the same time the number of unoccupied dwellings in some regions was larger than expected. “The pilot Census revealed that a lot of people do not reside in their registered place of residence. This indicates once again how important it is to conduct in 2011 the Population Census embracing whole Estonia — this is the only way how to get very accurate data about the country,” noted Ms Beltadze.

The pilot Census of PHC 2011 was carried out in two parts: e-census (from 31 December 2009 to 21 February 2010) in the course of which people could enumerate themselves via Internet and face-to-face interviews (from 5 to 31 March 2010), where enumerators visited those households who did not participate in e-census or whose questionnaires were incomplete.

In the course of e-census, over 5,000 persons were enumerated, of whom 3,000 were outside the regions of the pilot Census. According to preliminary data, about 18% of the persons living in the pilot Census regions were enumerated in e-Census. “It is a remarkable result according to the international experience, usually the share of the first e-Census is below 10%,” said Diana Beltadze.

According to preliminary data, 7,013 persons were enumerated in pilot Census regions in face-to-face interviews, together with the e-census data — the total number of enumerated persons was 8,895. More detailed overview of the pilot Census will be published by Statistics Estonia during April.

Different regions and settlement units all over Estonia were selected for the pilot Census in order to test thoroughly the organization and information systems of the census. The pilot Census was carried out in Tallinn, Narva, Püssi, Pärnu-Jaagupi, Paide, Aravete, and in Rae, Rõuge and Viimsi rural municipalities (for detailed information see /uudised/phc2011). 

In 2011 the Population Census will be conducted for the eleventh time on the territory of Estonia. The previous censuses were carried out in 1881, 1897, 1922, 1934, 1941, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 and 2000. In 2010 and 2011 Population and Housing Censuses will be held in the majority of countries all over the world.