Statistical Office: Population Census To Be Conducted Oct. 1 to 31, Preliminary Results by Late November

Novi Sad, Serbia (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

Around 20,000 people, including 15,000 enumerators and 2,200 instructors, would be engaged in a population census, which would be conducted from Oct. 1 to 31 this year, reporters were told at the Serbian Statistical Office on July 19.  

Office Assistant Director Snezana Lakcevic said that this census would be different from the previous one as electronic questionnaires would be used. “Methodology has been fully aligned with international standards. All census data can be used for statistical purposes only. Measures have been taken to ensure protection of personal data and they cannot be used for any other purpose,” Lakcevic stressed. 

Preliminary results will be released 30 days after completion of the census, that is, on Nov. 30, while final results will be published between April 2023 and May 2024. Data will also be collected from foreign nationals living and working in Serbia longer than one year, or intending to stay longer than a year, as well as from migrants in reception centers.  

Lakcevic also said that “total cost of enumeration is around five euros per citizens,” and would be partly financed from the Serbian budget and partly from Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds.   

Lakcevic said that data would be collected about the number, age, gender, and other characteristics of the population, adding that the collected data would also constitute a part of a report for several chapters in Serbia’s membership talks with the EU. She added that the questionnaire would also include questions important for exercising rights of national minorities and reducing social exclusion.