Between April 8 and July 7, 2024, the Population and Housing Census will take place in the Republic of Moldova, where data will be collected on the number and demographic characteristics of the population, as well as on residential buildings and living conditions. With reference to the census, various material with erroneous interpretations about the ‘true purposes’ of the census and the data to be collected began to appear in the press and on social media. The Independent Analytical Centre ‘Expert-Grup’ gathered the most frequent rumors about the census and verified whether they were true or not.

Myth No. 1. Information on buildings and dwellings is collected so that the tax authorities can collect higher property taxes or identify persons who rent housing without official contracts.

False. The census will NOT collect data on the value of the house or apartment you live in, nor will you be asked if you have a rent contract or not. The list of questions to be given in the census can be found on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics. The data to be collected about the buildings refers to the materials from which the walls and roof are built, as well as the year of construction of the building. This data will be used for public policy making, for example, to determine the share of houses with roofs made of slate sheets containing substances toxic to health, as well as those vulnerable to natural disasters. The data collected about dwellings refers to their endowment with the main conveniences such as bathroom or shower, toilet, heating, kitchen, etc., as well as the surface of the dwelling. In this way we will find out in which conditions we live and in which areas measures need to be taken to improve the conditions of life.

According to the Law on official statistics, confidential data collected in the census may only be used for statistical or scientific purposes, with the application of pseudonymization or anonymization methods. This means that BNS does not have the right to transmit your individual data without anonymization to any public authority or person. Only aggregated data (totals) will be disseminated in public. Thus, the State Tax Service will never learn from the NBS that the personal citizen Marina Soloviova lives in the city of X, in an apartment of Y square meters with bathroom, toilet and kitchen. All the IRS will find out, like all the public, is that in city X a certain percentage of dwellings are equipped with bathrooms, for example.

Myth No. 2. The census is conducted so that the state can determine how much ‘cannon fodder’ is available for mobilisation in the context of the war in Ukraine.

False. The population and housing census has nothing to do with external or internal events, this is a statistical research that is organized regularly, every 10 years. Previous censuses in Moldova took place, for example, in 2004 and 2014. Now we are in 2024, respectively, 10 years have passed since the previous census, that is why a new census is being organized. Moreover, virtually every country in the world regularly organises censuses, and this process is coordinated jointly with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), including for the main questions in the questionnaires to be formulated in the same way in all states. Thus, the 2024 census in the Republic of Moldova falls within the 2020 world round of population and housing censuses, which is open for the period 2015-2024. To date, most countries in the world have produced or are in the process of producing population and housing censuses for the 2020 world round.

Myth No. 3. There is no need for a census, because all the information already exists in other sources.

Partly true. It is true that the NBS can obtain certain information from existing administrative databases, such as the registers of the Public Services Agency with cadastral data about buildings and dwellings or with data about persons registered in the Republic of Moldova. However, existing databases do not contain all the necessary statistics and are moreover often incomplete. For example, in Moldova there are localities where no massive cadastral works have been carried out and a good part of the houses are not registered in the Real Estate Register. Even in the localities where cadastral works were carried out, usually only the main building is registered, without any fencing. Also, some houses are not registered on the grounds that they are not completed, although people live in them. As regards the socio-demographic characteristics of the population, there is no administrative database that would contain information about people’s ethnicity, spoken language or religion. The population census is the only source of such information. Finally, the census will provide data at district level (1 km square grids) necessary for the implementation of social development and infrastructure projects (e.g. urban transport planning), which is not possible to do using existing databases.

Myth No. 4. Personal data should not be provided to enumerators, because it will end up in the hands of scammers.

False. It is practically impossible for personal data communicated to reviewers to fall into the hands of third parties. This year, data will not be collected on paper as in previous censuses, but electronically using tablets. Once the reviewer has completed the review questionnaires with you, he/she will transmit the collected data to a secure server on which the census data will be kept. Once transmitted to the server, the data will be automatically deleted from the reviewer's tablet, he will not be able to keep it and will not be able to show it to anyone. The files will be transmitted from the tablet to the server in encrypted state, which will prevent their interception. The data on the server will also be kept safe. It should be noted that, in 2022, the NBS was certified in accordance with the standards ISO/IEC 27 001:2013 on security and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 on the protection of personal data.

Myth No. 5. The census is conducted to steal public funds.

False. Population census is a really expensive exercise and for this reason it is organized only once every 10 years (although there are richer countries that conduct censuses more frequently). For the census, from the state budget of Moldova, a total of 329 million lei will be allocated (of which 244 million lei in 2024), the information about allocations and acquisitions for the needs of the census being public and verifiable. Most of the public money for the 2024 census will cover the remuneration of temporary staff employed (censors), who will collect during interviews the answers given by the population to the questions of the census questionnaires. It should be noted that not all census expenses will be paid from state money. The census is also financed by the European Union and co-financed by UNFPA for a total amount of EUR 2.075 million: 2 million euros is the contribution of the European Union and 75 thousand euros - the contribution of UNFPA. From the donor's account are financed such aspects as: procurement of data collection equipment (recently, 3000 tablets and other necessary equipment were donated to Moldova), consultancy, software development, operational costs.

Myth No. 6. Through the census, the state seeks to obtain informațion about all our income and property.

False. First of all, the state already has information about our income and property. Every citizen can convince himself about this by accessing with the help of the government portal https://mcabinet.gov.md/ro and an electronic signature all the information about his income and properties, which are in the databases of the various state institutions. Also, the census questionnaires do not contain questions about wealth, earnings, taxes, debts, collections, legacies, accounts, companies, assets in the possession of citizens.

Moreover, individual answers given by each individual will not be forwarded by the NBS to other public authorities. All collected information will be used exclusively for statistical purposes for the production of generalized statistical indicators according to different characteristics of the population (sex, age, marital status, level of education, ethnicity, mother tongue, occupation, etc.).

Myth No. 7. If you participate in the census, the state will find out what your income is, what goods you have in your house and how many family members live with you and will use this information to deny you energy compensation or other social payments.

False. As mentioned above, the state already knows what your income is. Information about the endowment of the home with different household techniques (boiler, boiler, air conditioner, etc.), as well as the number of household members, is collected to assess the living conditions of the population on average, not to estimate your personal well-being. Your individual data will not be transmitted by the NBS to any public authority and cannot be used to determine your rights to various social benefits or for tax purposes.

Myth No. 8. Participation in the census is not mandatory.

False. Participation in the census is mandatory. Article 7 of the Population and Housing Census Act clearly sets out this obligation. But apart from the provisions of the law, participation in the census is a moral obligation as residents of the country in which we live. If we do not know what the problems are and, in general, to what extent we have problems, it is much more difficult to solve them. Without correct data, such as those collected at the census, decisions on the allocation of different resources (e.g.: infrastructure, public services, schools and hospitals) may be wrong. The Population and Housing Census will allow concrete identification of different social and economic problems and will provide society with a clear picture of the areas where action is needed to solve them. Avoiding participation in the census means that we do not want to be part of the solution of the problems in our localities and our country as a whole. In contrast, participation is a behavior by which we show that we care about the future and development of our country.

Myth No. 9. The census is being conducted because the 2024 presidential elections are approaching and the ruling party wants to create a database in order to rig the elections.

False. As mentioned above, the population and housing census is a statistical survey that is organized regularly, every 10 years, regardless of political events, such as elections, and regardless of the party that is in power during the census. It is also worth noting that if the presidential elections in Moldova will take place in 2024, then only the preliminary results of the census will be available at best until the elections. According to Government Decision No 951/2022 on the organisation and conduct of the population and housing census in the Republic of Moldova in 2024, the dissemination of preliminary results will take place within 6 months of the completion of the census. The review will be completed on 7 July 2024, i.e. the deadline for preliminary results will be 7 January 2025. The final summary results will be published within 12 months (by 7 July 2025) and the final results carried out within 18 months (by 7 January 2026). Thus, the ruling party, even if it wants to, will not be able to use the data collected in the census to somehow influence the presidential elections.

Myth number 10. There is no point in participating in the census because only the results that suit the government, will be published, as was the case in 2014.

False. The results of the previous census (2014) have been published in full and can be consulted on the NBS page. The final results were published with a long delay (in 2017), mainly due to the data collection technology used at the time (paper-based), as well as the need to complete from other sources the data that failed to be collected in the census. This delay, as well as the large share of the population in some localities that remained unreviewed, undermined public confidence in the results of the 2014 census. To prevent this from happening again, another (electronic) data collection technology has been chosen for the 2024 census, which will allow for faster processing as well as greater detail of information. For the results of the 2024 census to be truthful and reflect reality as faithfully as possible, without interference from politicians, it is important that people do not let themselves be deceived by various profiteers who urge them not to open the door to censors. If you do not participate in the census, the official statistics will not reflect your characteristics and interests, you will be as if non-existent!

Authors: Adrian Lupusor, Marina Soloviova, Stas Madan

This document was produced with the financial support of the European Union within the project ‘Monitoring the piloting of the population census’, implemented by the Independent Think Tank ‘Expert-Grup’. Its content belongs to the authors and does not necessarily reflect the vision of the European Union.