How we counted ourselves for the last 150 years

Population censuses in Croatia

What is our most well-known survey that is discussed over a cup of coffee on Saturdays, but also in the scientific community, a survey that both old and young people are interested in and that has been successfully conducted for more than 150 years? Of course, we are talking about a census, and here is how it all started and evolved.

Population censuses are one of the most interesting data sources we have. The earliest ones were always used for special purposes, usually military. The first such census in Croatia was carried out in 1357 in the territory of the Dubrovnik Republic, while it will take another several hundred years for the first modern census in the territory of today's Croatia to be carried out. It was not until 1857 that this census was carried out by order and with the personnel of Vienna. Its purpose was to enumerate the population and get an insight into the social, economic, spatial and other conditions of the Habsburg Monarchy. Among other things, this census is important because these data are considered to be the first official data on population numbers per settlement in Croatia and because they could be used for scientific research.

The next census, in 1880, was carefully prepared and conducted in a very short time by the Office for State Statistics, headed by Milovan Zoričić. Its first results were published as early as 1882, and in the following year the official results were published in the publication entitled “Census of Populace and Livestock as of 31 December 1880”. On more than 500 pages, this publication provided data on population, households and livestock, but it also detailed the methodology of data collection and listed all the documents used to collect those data, such as the census quesionnaires. Curiously, the quesionnaires for women were white, while for men they were blue.

After 1880, each subsequent census was carried out at intervals of ten years, until 1921, when the Statistical Office in Zagreb[1] conducted the census completely independently. This was the first census carried out since the First World War, covering the newly created Kingdom of SHS[2]. Although its implementation was planned for 31 December 1920, due to some technical problems in the preparatory period, it was carried out the following year, i.e. on 31 January 1921. Interestingly, the final results of that census were not published until 1932, under the title “Definitive Results of the Census as of 31 January 1921”, only after the next census was carried out, the one of 1931. That publication was published by the General State Statistics of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
 
Self-enumeration already existed in 1953

Shortly after the Second World War, in 1948 to be precise, a new census was carried out because the previous population data were not sufficient for any planning, also taking into account that there were major changes in the territorial constitution, the number of inhabitants and the distribution of inhabitants in the area. The first complete census after the Second World War was carried out a few years later, in 1953 to be exact. A curious feature of the 1953 census was that households were self-enumerated, i.e., they were distributed census forms, which households filled in on their own. The enumerators distributed and later collected the completed forms, also helping households who did not know how to fill in the form by recording the answers of their members. Another interesting fact is that the IBM computer was used for statistical data processing as early as 1949, so the first computer-edited census was precisely the one from 1953.

All subsequent censuses since 1961, as mentioned, have been conducted at ten-year intervals. During each subsequent census, the technology somewhat changed, as did the methodology, which had an ipact on the way data were entered and analysed. The 1971 census was not carried out only by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, but its mandate was to collect data from the territory of the Federal Republic of Croatia and make them machine-readable by using punched cards. The 1981 census is interesting in that data processing was transferred to the IBM terminal, but due to the obsolescence and reduced data processing capacity, part of the data had to be processed in Slovenia. As far as the 1991 census is concerned, it should be mentioned that all data were uploaded using an optical reader.

The technologies have changed over time, but the enumeration method has always been the same: the enumerator visits the household in person and, together with the people residing in that household, goes through the questions and records the answers for each member of the household. Let us mention here the latest census, i.e., the one that was conducted in 2021. A major novelty of the 2021 census was the digital self-enumeration that could be implemented via the e-citizens system. However, not all citizens knew or wanted to self-enumerate, so enumerators had to do the field work and visit the households that did not register via the e-citizen system. The implementation of this census was somewhat more complex and demanding due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, which caused that the time of the census was extended several times. Despite all the challenges, the data collection ended on 14 November 2021. It is worth mentioning that censuses are always carried out with the situation as on a certain date. In 2021, it was 31 August at midnight.
 
Over the years, census materials and technology have changed, so what will the future bring?

As society evolved, so did the need to learn as many specifics about it as possible in order to plan as well as to implement better policies, and to give the public a better insight into the society in which they live. Documents called census questionnaires, or census forms, which are filled in in the population censuses, have become more extensive throughout history. Here are a few examples: Since the 1948 census was carried out hurriedly, the data collected were rather scanty and general. As soon as in 1953, when it was time to better prepare the census, the scope of the survey expanded (from 12 to 20 questions). While only data on date of birth, sex, nationality, nationality, language, religion, children, marital status, education, literacy, occupation, agricultural holding and agricultural activity can be found in the 1948 census questionnaire, the following censuses placed greater emphasis on occupation, position in occupation, activity branch of the enterprise in which the person works and to which sector he/she belongs. In the following censuses, in addition to the question on educational attainment, a question on professional qualifications was added and the place of residence was examined in more detail. Besides census questionnaires that were filled in for each person in the household individually, questionnaires were also filled in on households in which they were collected, as well as on housing data.

The censuses are one of the most important sources of data on the population of a country, and their implementation is overly complex and demanding. Modern technologies help to make this process as simple as possible, and self-enumeration is one way to do this. The new time also brings new challenges, so the future of the new Croatian census will look somewhat different. Namely, by its Decision of April 2025, the Croatian Parliament promulgated the Central Population Register Act that established the basis for its organisation, which abolishes the implementation of the census every ten years. However, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics will continue to conduct censuses, but now in an environment of high digitalisation and data comprehensiveness. The world is heading towards a digital and automated future, and population censuses need to adapt to every time, including the future we have already stepped into.

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