"We invite you to answer a questionnaire which is very important because it will allow us to better understand the functioning of our society and inform economic, social and environmental policies," said Serge Allegrezza, director of national statistics office Statec, on Monday.

The statistics institute has launched a large-scale operation since the population census concerns between 270,000 and 280,000 households in Luxembourg. "Only the result of the census will tell us the exact figure," said François Pelletier, coordinator of the census and head of the population and housing unit at Statec.

In practice, the invitation letters should arrive on Monday and Tuesday in most mailboxes in Luxembourg. Addressed to the oldest member of the household, the letter contains a personal code to fill in the online questionnaire.

Statec is aiming to collect between 30% and 40% of responses via this channel and insists on its many advantages: a lottery with 25 prizes is planned, the digital questionnaire is more intuitive and quicker, available in five languages (French, German, Luxembourgish, Portuguese and English) and allows saves staff resources.

Municipalities have mobilised some 4,000 enumerators to distribute the paper version of the questionnaire and then to collect it. They are due to start work on 22 November, one week before the digital questionnaire closes.

"This is a sort of reminder to answer the census," said Pelletier. The paper version of the census will only be available in French and German, the other three languages are only available on request from the commune. Another special feature is that households opting for the paper version have until 5 December to hand in their forms either to their enumerator, to their municipality or, by post, to Statec.

"Participation in the census is compulsory, and the law provides for various sanctions for households that do not respond," explained the statistician. Statec is on the side of raising awareness among the population of the importance of the process, which is intended to be above all civic-minded.

Some new features

For each household, the questionnaire looks at its composition, the nationality and origin of its members, their housing, their professional situation, their level of education, the languages spoken and their mobility habits.

This 37th edition of the population census is also distinguished by the introduction of novelties, such as questions on a possible disability situation. "It was the ministry of the family that made this request," said Pelletier.

In terms of data presentation, Statec plans to view the data on different known territorial unit levels (such as national, cantonal and municipal), but also--and this is a new feature--by cells of one square kilometre .

It goes without saying that the online submission of responses should facilitate the processing of data by Statec. The latter guarantees complete aggregation and anonymisation of the information.

Around thirty publications are expected to result from the operation, with a first part in the first half of 2022, followed by a salvo that should continue throughout the following year. The previous census was conducted in 2011 and this year it has already been due to the pandemic.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.