Method and procedure of the register-based census
The census of 2011 will be conducted in Germany with a new method using mainly the data stored in the registers of the administrative authorities. These will mainly be the population registers of the municipalities and the registers of the Federal Employment Agency. Thus it will be possible to do without a survey covering all inhabitants, as is common with a traditional population census. Data which cannot be extracted from administrative registers (information on education, training and occupation) will be collected by an interview-based sample survey. Here, the citizens can provide their information either orally to the interviewer, online or by mail. Those interviews also fulfil the task of checking the data quality of the registers. The data on buildings and dwellings – there are no relevant registers in Germany – will be collected by mail from all owners.
Register-based censuses stood the test in other countries, especially in Scandinavia. The bodies of official statistics in Germany thoroughly tested the new register-based census method from 2001 to 2003. The result was that data from the various registers can be matched by that method, and inaccuracies in the registers can be adjusted statistically. Thus the register-based census will provide reliable results.
Detailed information on the individual stages of the register-based census is available here:
- 2011 census process
- Evaluation of population registers
- Evaluation of registers of employment statistics – and supplementary surveys of employment
- Postal census of buildings and housing
- Sample surveys to safeguard data quality and cover additional survey characteristics
- Register evaluation or data collection from property managers or inhabitants of collective accommodation
- How data are matched: household generating procedure
- Census test 2001
Why will there be a change of methodology?
Former population censuses in Germany were complete enumerations. This means that the data required were obtained direct from the entire population in personal interviews or by questionnaire. That method produces very accurate results with a detailed subject-matter and regional breakdown and makes it possible to analyse the data in the light of very different questions. But traditional population censuses surveying all citizens also are expensive and involve much effort. To conduct the 1987 population census, some 500 000 enumerators were in the field in the former territory of the Federal Republic alone. Thanks to the change in methodology, surveying the entire population will not be necessary in the 2011 census with results being as reliable. This lowers the burden on the citizens and reduces the financial means required. According to current estimates, the costs of a largely register-based census in 2011 will be only about one third of the expenditure that would have to be made for a traditional population census in reunified Germany.