Census 2021 concludes with high response rate; over 70% completed online

The data collection for the 2021 Population Census concluded over the weekend with a preliminary overall response rate of 83.3%, the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) announced in a statement.
According to the statement, the response rate was considered very positive and met the organizers’ initial expectations for a special edition of the local Census held in the middle of the pandemic, with limitations on house visits and direct contact between Census staff and the public.
The DSEC also noted that, of the many households who completed and submitted the Census questionnaire, a total of 71% of them filled out and submitted the questionnaire online. The other households provided the same information through telephone interviews, by submitting paper forms or by verbal response to visiting Census officers.
The DSEC also observed that Census 2021 aimed to cover 99.3% of the population, thus organizers were pleased with the initial response rate of 83%.
They noted that, after the initial very positive response of many households who submitted forms online on the very first day, the responses slowed down after that. The government was forced to extend the data collection period for an additional seven days, from 15 to 22 days.
The DSEC said that it will aim for a higher response rate and thus for more representative Census results, and to this end, DSEC will continue to follow up with households who have activated their access to but not completed the online questionnaire, or those who have scheduled a telephone interview to assist them. This work is expected to be concluded by September 19.
At the same time, a Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is set to begin on September 4 and run for another 15 days (until September 19), with the aim of ensuring the quality of the data collected previously.
This second round of questionnaires will include only 1,500 households, selected from those who completed the questionnaire previously.

Final results only next year
DSEC also revealed that the final, detailed findings of Census 2021 will not be published until the second quarter (Q2) of next year, while the preliminary results should be released before the end of this year.
The preliminary data release — expected in December — will include information such as population size, gender, age structure, and distribution of the population by district.
After the completion of this phase, the data collected will undergo necessary checking, processing, and analysis that will be presented and published in detail next year, probably between April and June.