Bulgaria's First Ever Online Census Registers 3 Million So Far

Society | February 9, 2011, Wednesday // 18:51
Bulgaria: Bulgaria's First Ever Online Census Registers 3 Million So Far Hours before closing, the first ever online census in Bulgaria registered almost two million people. Photo by BGNES

Nearly three million Bulgarians have participated in the first online census, according to data by the National Statistics Institute (NSI).

The data was releases hours before the end of the first online census in Bulgaria, which kicked off at midnight on February 1. The census questionnaire will be available for those choosing to fill it online on the website of NSI until midnight on February 9, 2011.

Until 4:30 pm on Thursday, the registered people were 2,731,984. Most of them were women, NSI announced.

Friday will set the beginning of the traditional census, which will include a total of 40,000 census takers. On average, one census taker is expected to visit about 200-250 people and 80 households. New legislation provides for a BGN 120 fine to anybody who refuses to provide census information to the authorities.

Foreigners who live in Bulgaria cannot avail themselves of the online option, but still have to take part in the census.

Bulgarians, who work and study abroad, also have no access to the online census site outside the territory of the country. This has been done on purpose because Bulgarians residing in other EU Member States will be counted there.

The decennial census aims to collect full, exact, and adequate information about the condition of the population, economy, and society which are to be used to draft strategic documents for the development of the country – a National Program for Development "Bulgaria 2020" and a new 5-year plan for the absorption of EU funds – 2013-2017.

The information from the census is also expected to be taken into account when drawing the lists with eligible voters for the 2011 local and presidential elections. Experts have warned for years that the existing lists contain the names of many persons who are dead or have emigrated, which creates conditions for electoral fraud.

The campaign will end on March 1, when the percentage of Bulgarians who took part in the census will be announced. The complete data from the census will be made public at the beginning of April.

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Tags: census, online, questionnaire, takers, Bulgarians, Bulgaria, National Statistics Institute, NSI, foreigners, abroad, population

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