The grand duchy carries out a census every ten years, as required by the European Commission. The 2011 edition was the first to take place under an EU legal framework that seeks to harmonise data from the bloc’s member countries.

The census provides comprehensive information about Luxembourg’s population, but this year’s edition will no longer enquire about marital status, nationality or country of birth as these records will be pulled from the national register, economy minister Franz Fayot (LSAP) said.

Questions will include information about which languages the respondents use in their daily life, whether at home or in the workplace. The questionnaire itself will be made available in Luxembourg’s three administrative languages--Luxembourgish, French and German--as well as English and Portuguese.

New areas of inquiry will include disability and additional questions on the quality of housing, in particular as regards the need for refurbishment or making buildings more energy efficient.

In preparation of the census, statistics office Statec posted two vacancies for administrative assistants working on the survey.