Malta Census 2011

ah i see what you mean  - yes we got the malti version - the collector called yesterday to collect it and then he gave us the english one - some very strange questions....even about the type of housing and how many rooms when and where you last worked even if you havent worked for years..what has that go to do with this.

your entry here suggest the collectors have difficulty getting the malti forms.....i wonder why?

you know the more i read and re-read this form the more i am feeling like not handing it in as there are far too many questions of a very private/personal nature that as far as i can see are nothing to do with a census of population.

I found the toilet flush question strange, and also how many apartments in your building (I don't even know how many floors there are!) and what year it was built in... as a tenant I feel these questions should be put to the apartment owner.

But hey, it only took me 5 minutes, I'm moving in 3 weeks and it keeps the Maltese happy!

Don't want look stupid but, should we fill the Census questionnaire since we just moved to Malta?

What I mean is - is the residence permit a must, for filling this questionnaire?

I wouldnt worry about it if you havent been given a form and you have just arrived here.

Further I fail to see what our annual rental has to do with a census or whether we have a fridge, washer, tv, etc etc etc...or a flushing toilet, or when the first birth took place, when you were first married, illnesses, reading and writing abilities (how anyone who has problems with these is meant to fill this one i dont know) how would a tenant know when a property was built, is the tenant in any position to make a statement on the condition of a property, and why do they need to know if you have a holiday home? further why ask about a garage and its rent - and no ask about having a car and its value???????

ridiculous.

I am going to tell the collector tha we havent completed and may not complete it all as yet as we are concerned over the content of personal questions.

another question what about all these people who own homes here but are not here between 7/11 and 4/12 2011.....

toonarmy9752 wrote:

I wouldnt worry about it if you havent been given a form and you have just arrived here.

The form has been sitting on the table the past week

And we agree that some of the questions are a bit too personal...

That's why we're reluctant to fill it out.

well i just spoke the some friends who moved here in april this year and they were classed as "it not being applicable to them"  which would suggest its not applicable to you either ...they told the enumerator that they had only been here 6 months or so and he told them it didnt apply to them and he marked the sheet accordingly - but on reading the form it definitley does apply to them so that would suggest the enumerators havent got a clue.

O>I>M


But am not happy at the questions.

Hi toon,

I can understand your opinion but as it as an EU wide collection of data I will question the Maltese results if the Census do not go forwards in collecting the data from all residents.

The data is not worth a penny if a single individual is not willing to answer the question whether he has a flushing toilet or not !

For me this the question is  whether Malta can and is willing to be an EU country and implement the rules that all other countries accept ( including the UK) or if it wants to contuinue to be a 'third-world' trying to appear European.

Sorry to be so blunt but ....

Cheers
ricky

even i find the questions to be quite personal and don't really want to answer.. hm..so what are actually the legal implications of not filling it and handing it in?

ricky wrote:

Hi toon,

I can understand your opinion but as it as an EU wide collection of data I will question the Maltese results if the Census do not go forwards in collecting the data from all residents.

The data is not worth a penny if a single individual is not willing to answer the question whether he has a flushing toilet or not !

For me this the question is  whether Malta can and is willing to be an EU country and implement the rules that all other countries accept ( including the UK) or if it wants to contuinue to be a 'third-world' trying to appear European.

Sorry to be so blunt but ....

Cheers
ricky

being completely blunt ricky - if its eu wide then where is the evidence that the questions are the same all over the EU. I feel that "some" questions are too personal in nature and there is no need for them - if there is ? why? where is the reasoning behind them, why do the need to know how much rent a person pays, why do they need to know when you had your first baby (does that mean only the baby born here or living here now or others throughout the world).

Its one thing trying to adhere to EU requirements but where in the form does it say that they are applying the same questions to malta residents as to other eu state residents...i will tell you nowhere.

so for commonality and fairness to all eu state member countries residents - there has to be undeniable proof that this is the case and thats not the case here. This data being colected is highyl questionable for sure.

Nobody can guarantee 100% collection in this country or any other as there will always be people who for one reason or another do not complete it or submit it....its a snapshot in time (think of all the residents (malti or foreign)who are not here in the collection period)...I GUESS YOU ARE GOING TO BE TOO BUSY QUESTIONING THE RESULTS TO BE COMMENTING HERE ON EX PAT BLOG....lol

Hi toon,

you raised an interesting question so I checked out the 2011 census questions for Germany:

https://cdn.zensus2011.de/live/uploads/ … sch_04.pdf

It was 'sample-based' on the 9 th May 2011 so not everybody had to fill in the form. The questions are actually very similar but not identical. The Germans did not ask any health-related question and did not want to know if the appartments had non-flushing toilets. Now that says something -)))

And the Germans provided the questionaire in 13 different languages !

I also checked and compared the EU census order:
http://census2011.gov.mt/legal-basis/EU … 3_2008.pdf

and the Maltese census order:

http://census2011.gov.mt/legal-basis/Le … 202011.pdf

In particular from what I could make of it the health related questions are not covered by the underlying EU order and are a specific Maltese 'thing'!

Whether that entitles you to not answer is still a question that I'm not answering but it shows an obvious interest of the authorities in non-flushing toilets and disabilities.

Cheers
Ricky

Good work Ricky...I thought as much. Just a sample - hardly 100% representative of the country then.

13 languages - yet we struggle with two!!!!!

I rest my case......why should I hand over personal details (that he can read at his/her leisure) in this day and age of id theft, phishing hacking etc....to someone I dont know and cannot vouch for - and they say its confidential and wont be used by any other agency...yeah right - they call me cupid not stupid.

How can that be legally enforced - i might as well just hand over my life to a stranger.

Not going to happen - i will take my chances....

Hi toon,

I just added a few more links and info's to my last post.

As I studied mathematics and statistics I can say that census by sample is a valid method and also backed by the EU regulation and still makes data comparable. It might be what the Maltese will have to do if they do not succeed in collecting enough data, ie topping up and computing it to a 100 % level.

Cheers
Ricky

I see and understand that Ricky - so why are enumerators threatening householders with legal action for not completing it (for whatever reasons- i.e blind or elderly, or infirm or those who have reading writing difficulties)....its not necessary for everyone to complete it  and certainly not necessary to answer the personal questions..i completely fail to see the advantage of those in a census.

ricky wrote:

The Germans...did not want to know if the appartments had non-flushing toilets. Now that says something -)))

Well, I did the same thing as Ricky did - I went to check out our Slovenian version of the census. Unfortunatelly our Statistical Office posted a very poor version of it:
http://www.stat.si/popis2011/eng/Content.aspx?lang=eng
Basically they've (Slovenian Statistical Office) combined the data from: Central Population Register, Household Register, Real Estate Register and Statistical Register of Employment into one form.

Then I dug a little futher and found the EU legislation where you'll find somewhere from (pdf) page number 61 and on, all the data the Eurostat "needs".

Quoted from Slovenian SO webpage:
"Slovenia is obliged to conduct a census of households and dwellings. One of the legal bases is the Regulation on Censuses of the European Union – according to this regulation all the Member States of the European Union need to collect data on specific topics and have to report the results to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. A set of minimum but obligatory topics is stated in the regulation although each country may also collect other data. ..."

Although I don't accept some of the questions (where and with which company you work; how much is your rent; etc.) and I probably won't answer them, they do seem to be "necessary" to  Eurostat.

Kind regards,
the female half of Buds