Census 2021 in the Republic of Serbia Snezana Lakčević TCG meeting Ljubljana, 19-20 February 2019

The 2021 Census 2021 Census in Serbia Traditional census using laptops Field realization: 1-30 April 2021 Reference date: 31 March 2021 Pilot census: April 2019 (CAWI and CAPI) The main aims: modernization and cost efficiency meet the users’ demands

The 2021 Census – Organizational structure Census commissions in municipalities and cities (162) Regional coordinators (heads of regional departments) Municipal coordinators (about 260 persons, statisticians and associates) Instructors (about 2.200) and enumerators (around 15.000) IT support(IT staff in regional departments and in municipalities)

2011 Census 2021 Census Enumerators 36.559 15.000 Instructors 4.471 2.200 Trainings 3-days 5-days Period of enumeration 15 days (additional 3-5 days in large cities) 30 days Printed material 300t of paper, filled 12 mil. basic census questionnaires Electronic questionnaires(paper only in exceptional situations); printing guidelines Data entry and processing Around 8 months, 600 persons Automatic data entry, use of administrative registers for imputations Final results– the first book 12 months after the census 4-6 months

The 2021 Census – Direct participants on the field Municipal coordinators Instructors Enumerators required number candidates on the training number of trainings points for training (2-3 terms) Belgrade 49 488 549 18 13 3414 3841 124 47 Valjevo 7 52 61 2 365 411 8 Zajecar 11 80 91 3 561 631 22 Kragujevac 19 154 177 6 5 1081 1217 42 20 Kraljevo 175 199 1227 1380 45 Leskovac 142 166 904 1017 36 Nis 21 170 194 1188 1336 44 Novi Pazar 43 1 303 341 Smederevo 122 138 851 957 32 16 Uzice 12 87 100 610 686 23 Sabac 89 101 621 699 25 Zrenjanin 78 617 Novi Sad 201 229 1407 1583 54 Pancevo 85 96 594 668 24 S.Mitrovica 90 102 628 706 9 Subotica 107 121 4 751 844 29 Total - rough 260 2.200 2.500 65-70 15.000 17.000 600 270-300 IT staff (training and support during the fieldwork) 40 200

Census Law Draft Census Law has been prepared together with: Explanation with all following documentation State of compliance with EU regulations Following: Public discussion Opinion of the ministries Adoption on the Government Working group for legal and financial issues Expected to be adopted in the Assembly by the end of 2019

Financing Programming IPA 2018 N which contains four components (value nearly 30 million euros) Population Census is the largest last 36 months starts in the second quarter of 2019 Partly financing - from the budget of the Republic of Serbia: technical equipment (around 8 million euros) 18 000 of laptops November 2019 – signed the legal basis preceding the signing of a financial agreement

GIS GIS application for creating electronic maps of EAs and collecting spatial data Linkage of geospatial and enumeration data up to the level of house number (coordinates) Prerequisite for production of census data geo-referenced to the 1 km2

The main challenges Innovations inevitable becomes standard practice Select the personnel for census fieldwork Provide financial and human resources Select and provide the appropriate technology Ensure complete coverage of all census units Establish system of managing risks in all census phases Ensure the confidentiality of census data Maintain the integrity of the existing statistical system Innovations inevitable becomes standard practice We can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and to expect to find ourselves in the same place tomorrow.

State-of-play Updating spatial data as part of preparation of the 2019 Pilot Census - fieldwork until end of February - 38 persons on the field Selection and training of instructors for the Pilot - 25 instructors + 5 as reserve - training (last week in February) Selection and training of the enumerators for the Pilot - 85 enumerators - trainings on 3 points Preparation of methodological and organizational guidelines (proofreading, editing and printing) Development of IT tools and infrastructure Setting up the basic concepts and elements of a communication campaign

Computer Assisted Web Interview - CAWI Conducting only in three largest cities (Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis) Prepared application with all validation rules Tested questionnaires on the focus groups (6 groups of persons) Prepared accompanying letters and entrance code for completing on line questionnaires Realization: 1-7 April 2019 Verification code after successful enumeration

CAWI - challenges Monitoring coverage Quality of administrative registers (primarily the Address register) Connecting data (CAWI + CAPI) Additional costs (enumerator has to check each address regardless self- enumeration)

Preparation of the Road map Beyond the 2021 Census Establishing the Statistical Population Register Updating from available administrative databases Framework for conducting other statistical surveys Simulation of the register-based census after the completion of the 2021 Census Preparation of the Road map Proposing targets and necessary steps for development capacities of all relevant bodies Discussing the possibilities, roles and responsibilities of the relevant institutions Organizing national workshops Action plan for introduction of the register-based census in Serbia

Thank you for your attention! snezana.lakcevic@stat.gov.rs