The Parliament is set to hold Monday its 25th session to discuss draft law on census of population, households and dwellings in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The census is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2021 and will be conducted by the State Statistical Office. The data is expected to be ready in six months.
The Head of the State Statistical Office, Apostol Simovski said last week that the census will be conducted with combined method, i.e. envisaging a change of questionnaires completed by the enumeration teams during the interviews with the enumerated persons, from paper based questionnaires, used in all previous censuses, to electronic questionnaires installed on portable computers.
Parliament’s Committee on European Affairs on Thursday in first reading passed the draft law on population census.
Calling the law necessary, opposition MPs who are part of the committee said they would file amendments to improve the law’s text so as to eliminate ways to “politicize” the statistical operation.
Ruling MPs said it was premature to give the much-needed process qualifications, stressing the last time a census was organized in the country was some twenty years ago.
The personal data of the nationals working or residing abroad will be provided by an adult over 18 who knows them the most. Those working and residing abroad will be allowed to take part in the census via an app on the State Statistical Office’s website from March 1 until April 21, 2021.
Justice Minister Bojan Marichikj said in October that the purpose of the draft law on census is to no longer be a political issue and to have a model that will be used now and in the coming years.
“Our concept includes the State Statistical Office to conduct the population census with the most modern technical and technological options, at a cost of EUR 8 million, twice less than the one proposed in 2011, and to be given the opportunity for all those citizens who do not live in the country to be registered,” Marichikj said.
The country held its first census in 1948. The last one was held in 2002 after eight censuses.
In 2011, the State Statistical Office suspended the headcount shortly after launching it.
