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Wed, May 22 2013
You count too
Photo: Georgi Kozhouharov
Bulgaria’s 2011 census got underway on February 1, not without some teething troubles in the online phase of the exercise – and with a reminder that foreigners permanently or temporarily resident in the country should also take part, or face a fine of 120 leva.
However, those foreigners who would prefer to take part online rather than answer questions from a census taker could do so only if at least one person in the household has Bulgarian citizenship and an EGN, a Bulgarian identity number – a category that, for example, would embrace those foreigners with a Bulgarian spouse.
Other foreigners to be counted in include tourists and people in Bulgaria on business trips. The principle is that the "reference moment" of the census is the midnight that February 1 started, so everyone present in the country and eligible for inclusion in the census should be reported.
Some foreigners are exempt from the census, including diplomats and other representatives of foreign governments, foreign military personnel and their families, people resident in properties owned by foreign governments and representatives of international organisations.
Foreigners unable to speak Bulgarian can request census takers able to speak, respectively, English, French or Russian. To make the request, call the helpline, 0700 16 310.
On the National Statistical Institute (NSI) website, nsi.bg, a sample of the census form in English was available.
After the initial online phase, ending February 9, the in-person interviews by census takers were scheduled to start from February 10 and continue until February 28.
Glitches and gremlins
The online version of the census went live as midnight brought the start of February, and the NSI said on the afternoon of the first day that several thousand people already had filled in the form on the internet.
However, the process did not go without teething troubles, even though the NSI had sought to pre-empt some concerns, notably by saying that the online census system was designed to allow 400 000 people to be online simultaneously without the system crashing, while the institute also issued an assurance that information given online would be secure and confidential.
Bulgarian National Television said on February 1 that the main problem appeared to be the transmission of passwords enabling the completion of the form. By the evening, this problem was fixed by having the password appear on the screen instead of being sent to a user’s e-mail.
The system, designed to alert users of errors, appeared to be not working as it should, going by a report on the website of Dnevnik.
Among problems reported by users were difficulty in finding the appropriate classification to describe their occupations, an absence of being able to describe oneself as retired but working temporarily, and some categories of employment not being provided for, while some users complained that the system did not accept the notion that a kitchen could serve a double purpose as a living room (thus throwing out calculations of the area of a residence) – and nor, so some Dnevnik readers said, could the system accept that an eight-year-old child could be literate.
Ahead of the census, the NSI estimated that about 40 per cent of Bulgarians would take part online.
Plans are for the results of the census to be released in about February 2012.
However, those foreigners who would prefer to take part online rather than answer questions from a census taker could do so only if at least one person in the household has Bulgarian citizenship and an EGN, a Bulgarian identity number – a category that, for example, would embrace those foreigners with a Bulgarian spouse.
Other foreigners to be counted in include tourists and people in Bulgaria on business trips. The principle is that the "reference moment" of the census is the midnight that February 1 started, so everyone present in the country and eligible for inclusion in the census should be reported.
Some foreigners are exempt from the census, including diplomats and other representatives of foreign governments, foreign military personnel and their families, people resident in properties owned by foreign governments and representatives of international organisations.
Foreigners unable to speak Bulgarian can request census takers able to speak, respectively, English, French or Russian. To make the request, call the helpline, 0700 16 310.
On the National Statistical Institute (NSI) website, nsi.bg, a sample of the census form in English was available.
After the initial online phase, ending February 9, the in-person interviews by census takers were scheduled to start from February 10 and continue until February 28.
Glitches and gremlins
The online version of the census went live as midnight brought the start of February, and the NSI said on the afternoon of the first day that several thousand people already had filled in the form on the internet.
However, the process did not go without teething troubles, even though the NSI had sought to pre-empt some concerns, notably by saying that the online census system was designed to allow 400 000 people to be online simultaneously without the system crashing, while the institute also issued an assurance that information given online would be secure and confidential.
Bulgarian National Television said on February 1 that the main problem appeared to be the transmission of passwords enabling the completion of the form. By the evening, this problem was fixed by having the password appear on the screen instead of being sent to a user’s e-mail.
The system, designed to alert users of errors, appeared to be not working as it should, going by a report on the website of Dnevnik.
Among problems reported by users were difficulty in finding the appropriate classification to describe their occupations, an absence of being able to describe oneself as retired but working temporarily, and some categories of employment not being provided for, while some users complained that the system did not accept the notion that a kitchen could serve a double purpose as a living room (thus throwing out calculations of the area of a residence) – and nor, so some Dnevnik readers said, could the system accept that an eight-year-old child could be literate.
Ahead of the census, the NSI estimated that about 40 per cent of Bulgarians would take part online.
Plans are for the results of the census to be released in about February 2012.
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Bulgaria’s population is 7.3 million – official 2011 census results
Populations of Sofia and Varna both increased, while since the 2001 census, the population of Bulgaria has decreased by about 560 000 people.
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STILL WAITING TO BE COUNTED BUT NO ENGLISH FORMS AVAILABLE. FLYING OUT 22ND FEB.SORRY WILL MISS IT IF NOBODY CALLS AT MY HOUSE.WOULD BE NICE IF I COULD GET AN ENGLISH FORM FROM SOME WHERE. [HELP]
@Bogornil: my embassy sent message: you can get 120BGN fine, if you dont participate... so "Just don't answer the door" is not THAT GOOD plan....
The link is down !
nsi.bg/index.php
I have just downloaded a sample census form (in English)from the NSI website as it was suggested that if non Bulgarians fill in a sample form it will be easier to transfer the info when (and if)the census taker arrives. The instructions are not very clear - do we have to fill in a separate form for everyone in a household?
Just don't answer the door. End of.
In relation to this article and to the phone no beginning with 0700, can someone confirm if this is a premium number or not? I have tried to contact the number by phone and waited several minutes for someone to speak to, I also sent an e-mail which was not delivered. I for one cannot afford to hold on waiting for customer service personnel when I make a call on a mobile phone. Maybe there is a Bulgarian out there who can help us with obtaining and completing this censor form? I think it would have been better if forms [...]
Read the full comment had been sent out to all home owners to complete from the local town/village halls, the local mayor would know who and which properties are not owned or lived in by Bulgarian citizens . I also think it would be totally wrong to charge individuals 120 leva for not completing this form due to the problems in either contacting relevant departments or obtaining the form etc.
In the case of people residing in hotels, guest houses and homes, etc., the instructions for the people counting are to take the number of people residing in the hotel on the evening of 31.01.2001. So you needn`t bother about being counted personally. Also a lot of people refuse to be counted or hold back information anyway, despite the existence of a so called fine. So don`t worry :)
If Bulgarians in that respect can't relate with foreigners in other language other than in Bulgarian this is shameful, after all there are thousands of people out there who are more qualified than those mainly seating by the phone and refusing to relate to foreigners in other language because of their inferiority complex. Why were they employed for this in the first place if they were qualified. NEPOTISM.
well my husband do it online its very very fast and easy.i am marred to a bulgarian.
My husband and I live in Bulgaria. I can read Bulgarian and tried to do the online census, but read in the instructions that it could only be done if we reside with a BgCit (which we don't). It seems we wait for a census taker to show up. During winter we are living in our apartment in a ski resort. If a census taker shows up here, we'll be very, very surprised if they don't just ask the building manager for a raw number and move on.
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained off-topic content
Try to get through to the help line number and after a wait of between 20 - 60 mins you will find they just put the telephone down if you do not speak Bulgarian . Go ahead and try it ;)
My wife and myself have lived in bulgaria for over three years. I rang the telephone number you supplied to talk to an English advisor to help us with the cencus. After a few minutes I was transfered to a English speaking Bulgarian lady. She was not helpful at all and told me that we would have to get a Bulgarian to do it for us. She promptly put the phone down. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
I AM IN BULGARIA ON HOLIDAY FROM THE 31/12/11 IN A HOLIDAY HOME.BUT GO HOME ON THE 22/1/11. WHAT DO I DO. WHERE DO I GO. WHO DO I SEE.NO FORM HAS BEEN POSTED TO THIS ADDRESS,AND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND BULGARION.