The census of population, households and dwellings in Croatia, conducted under the slogan "Together We Create a Picture of Croatia", will last from today, 13 September, until 17 October, and for the first time, it will be implemented in two stages, the first of which will be digital.

The census is the most comprehensive statistical survey and covers three elements — population, households and dwellings. In the first stage, until 26 September, citizens will be able to self-enumerate via the e-citizens system.

In the second phase, from 27 September to 17 October, census takers, that is the field staff,  will conduct face-to-face interviews with citizens and register, with the help of electronic devices, all census units that have not self-enumerated.

In the first phase citizens will be able to fill in a questionnaire of about 60 questions to register themselves and the members of their household.

The self-enumeration rule is that if more than one member of a household use the e-citizens system, only one member enters data on other members of the household, the household itself and the dwelling.

The reference time of the census will be midnight 31 August 2021.

A total of about 9,500 persons will be engaged in the implementation of the census, including about 8,000 census-takers, 1,100 controllers, 170 instructors and 45 coordinators, as well as members of county census committees, branches and census centres.

The census refers to Croatian nationals, foreign nationals and persons without citizenship who have permanent residence in Croatia and persons who at the reference time of the census reside in Croatia.

The first results will be published no later than 60 days after the end of the census, and the final results will be published according to the publishing programme and calendar of statistical data issues of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

The DZS will conduct the census in compliance with the recommendations of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, given the coronavirus epidemic.