WRITTEN QUESTION E-1321/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 May 2001)

Subject: General census in Greece

On 18 March 2001, a general census of the population was carried out in Greece. The questionnaire issued by the National Statistical Office contained questions which were obviously hangovers from a previous era (such as whether the home has a toilet), while there were also significant gaps such as the lack of questions on key factors such as possession of a car and the use of new technologies in Greece (e.g. the number of computers per household, access to the Internet etc.). Doubts were also expressed from several quarters about the overall organisation of the census and, therefore, the accuracy of the data that will ultimately be produced.

Is the Commission satisfied with the overall organisation of the census, and with the questionnaire used by the National Statistical Office to collect data from the population?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

The content of a general census of population and housing usually reflects a combination of national data needs, international recommendations and, in the case of a Member State, the Community data needs expressed in the Community Census Programme. The Statistical office of the European Communities (Eurostat) is not in a position to judge how well the Greek 2001 census satisfies Greece's national data needs. However, it should be noted that a general census is a huge and extremely costly operation. Therefore, the contents of censuses are usually restricted to the very basic structural variables of population and housing conditions, this data being needed either at a very detailed regional level or at a detailed level of classification. Obtaining a broader spectrum of variables is usually achieved by means of sample surveys, which enable a great variety of data to be produced at reasonable cost.

In terms of its questionnaire, the content of the Greek general census is fully in line with the United Nations/Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) - Eurostat recommendations for the 2000 censuses of population and housing in the ECE region, and with the Community Programme for Population and Housing Censuses in 2001, as agreed

by the Statistical Programme Committee and published by Eurostat under the heading Guidelines and table programme for the Community programme for population and housing censuses in 2001.

As far as the degree of exhaustiveness of the Greek census is concerned, no information is yet available. However, it is known that the National Statistical Service of Greece had planned to carry out a post-enumeration survey to check the coverage of the census. The results of this quality-control exercise should become available in the coming months.