The Population Census starts on Monday, RMV makes a strong appeal to Macedonians in Albania

On September 18, the Population and Housing Census will start in our country! More than 7,500 surveyors, supervisors and controllers trained by the Institute of Statistics have been engaged in counting the entire population and dwellings, and the data will be collected in 6 weeks.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia has called on all Macedonians in Albania to freely express their ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliation, in accordance with the law and positive democratic practice in Albania.

"Albania is known in the world for its multi-ethnic and multicultural society, in the way it was achieved in North Macedonia and which represents an authentic priceless political and cultural heritage. Recognizing the role of Macedonians as loyal citizens of Albania, the upcoming census will enable them, through the free expression of their identity, to confirm their ethnic, linguistic, religious and identity affiliation. This will further confirm the role of the ethnic Macedonian community in Albania, in building bridges of friendship between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the institutions of the Republic of North Macedonia will remain in intensive communication with the representatives of the Macedonian ethnic community in Albania, as well as with the institutions of the Republic of Albania, among others, for issues affecting identity issues. We continue to actively engage in the protection and promotion of these rights in the same way as we have done so far", the announcement states.

The census will provide data on the resident population, on demographic, social characteristics, data on housing, health, employment and others. Their collection will be carried out with electronic equipment. The questionnaires have eight modules and 100 questions. Over 7,500 surveyors, supervisors and controllers trained by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) will be involved. The field data collection process will last six weeks and close on October 28. The first data will then be published in June 2024, while more detailed data will be published in December 2024. The 2023 Population and Housing Census will be the 12th Census, since Albania was declared an independent state in 1912, where the Census the first was performed in 1923.