Census in Bulgaria Мay Be Postponed

The population and housing census, which is due to begin on January 22, 2021, is likely to be delayed due to the spread of the coronavirus.

 Postponement is proposed by two GERB MPs, who have submitted a draft of new law.

Alexander Nenkov and Alexander Ivanov propose that the Census Act stipulate that the Council of Ministers may change the start and end dates of the census in the event of some emergency.

  In the current text of the law, the dates are precisely defined - from January 22 to February 15, 2021. The petitioners motivate their proposal with the dangers for the citizens and the enumerators who will visit the households who will have direct contact with each other.

 In addition, according to them, the development of the epidemic in the winter months cannot be predicted. The dates of the census were set by law in 2018, and it was reported that in 2021 there will be two types of elections - parliamentary in the spring and elections for president in the fall.

 Census in EU are held once every 10 years. The previous one was in 2011. In addition to the information required by European legislation, additional information will be collected for national purposes: for people - ethno-cultural characteristics and health status, and for housing and buildings - energy efficiency, household sustaining, services etc.