22 March 2021
Every citizen of the Czech Republic (CR) who has permanent residence in the Czech Republic is obliged to get counted. It doesn’t matter in which country he/she lives and whether he/she also has another citizenship than Czech citizenship. Where abroad he/she is registered for residence doesn’t matter either. The Census does not apply only to those citizens of the CR living abroad who have had their residence in the territory of the Czech Republic terminated.
Abroad you can only get counted via the electronic census form (questionnaire) in any place where there is connection to the Internet. “To sign in (log in) into the electronic census form (questionnaire) at the website scitani.cz or in a mobile application called Sčítání21 (Census21), which will be available for download from Google Play or the App Store from 27 March, you can use valid identity papers issued by the Czech Republic, a banking identity or electronic identity, or a data box of a natural person,” Marek Rojíček, President of the Czech Statistical Office, states.
If you do not have this opportunity, your data can be filled in on your behalf by a family member who knows the situation in your household as well as your personal data, i.e. your name and surname, your birth identification number (“rodné číslo” in Czech) or the number of identity papers issued by the Czech Republic and your date of birth. Moreover, he/she needs to know information for the personal part of the census form (questionnaire). That includes, for example, your first place of residence after birth, information about your education, or employment.
The enumeration of professional soldiers serving on foreign missions is secured by the Ministry of Defence; as for members of the Police of the Czech Republic working abroad, it is secured by the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs secures enumeration of people working in representative offices (embassies) including their family members living with them in a common household.
The 2021 Census focuses only on flats and dwellings in the territory of the Czech Republic. The part of the questions regarding housing is therefore not filled in for people with habitual (usual) residence abroad. If a Czech citizen shares his/her household abroad with a foreigner who has neither permanent residence nor temporary residence for over 90 days in the Czech Republic, such a foreigner does not have to be stated in the list of persons in the household and he/she is not obliged to fill in the census form (questionnaire) either.
The Census is a unique source of information which allows to map the scope of migration that takes place not only inside the territory of the Czech Republic but also between the Czech Republic and foreign countries. From other surveyed characteristics it can be deduced what types of households it applies to within the migration. That is important, for example, for the Ministry of Education, which participates in taking care of Czech schools abroad or for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture when supporting expat associations.
Even Czech citizens living abroad can use extensive informational support be it on the website scitani.gov.cz or provided by the 2021 Census Contact Centre. The Contact Centre operates daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays at the following phone numbers: (+420) 253 253 683 and (+420) 840 30 40 50. However, one can also ask the Contact Centre questions by sending an e-mail to dotazy@scitani.cz or via chat in a virtual advisory centre for the 2021 Census.
The Census is organised by the Czech Statistical Office, an independent and apolitical authority, that collects and publishes data from the following domains: demography, economy, health, labour market and social security, culture, sport, tourism, education, and the environment. Since 1990, it has been processing and publishing results of all elections. The main principles of work of the CZSO are as follows: Independence, Impartiality, Objectivity, Accuracy and Reliability, Same information to everybody at the same time, Protection of confidential data. In 2020, 61% of the population trusted the Czech Statistical Office and thus it belongs to the most trustworthy institutions in the country, according to the Public Opinion Research Centre.
Contact:
Jolana Voldánová
2021 Census spokeswoman
Mobile phone number: +420 704 659 357
e-mail: jolana.voldanova@scitani.cz
