Five good reasons for the census
The Census Commission gives scientific support to the 2011 Census. It consists of independent scientists of various disciplines. The Commission assesses the concepts, methods and procedures developed by the statistical offices.
The scientists of the Census Commission very well know that conducting the census in Germany is urgent and necessary. This is because the scientific community is one of the main users of official statistical data and of census results. Therefore we would like to give some of them the opportunity here to explain to us the relevance of the census for the scientific and research community and for politicians.
“There is no data source offering a similar quality because only a complete enumeration such as the census is free from selection bias.”
This is how Dr. Hilmar Schneider, Director of Labor Policy at the Institute for the Study of Labor, explains why the data collection is necessary. And he adds: “A sample survey is no alternative to the census.”
Prof. Dr. Hans Rattinger of Mannheim University agrees and adds: “The scientific community needs a regular census to achieve a rather reliable adjustment of their own samples.”
As more time elapses since the last population censuses (former territory of the Federal Republic: 1987; GDR: 1981), intercensal updates of population and housing figures get more inaccurate. “In the worst case, incorrect or insufficient information on the structure of our society will lead to malfunctions and injustice”
, argues Dr. Schneider. His colleague, Dr. Heike Wirth of the German Social Science Infrastructure Services Association in Mannheim agrees: “Updating the official numbers of inhabitants leads to more regional justice in redistribution on the basis of the financial equalisation between Länder or municipalities. This allows to identify undersupply or oversupply of regions and to achieve more fairness in the allocation of funds.”
Another important aspect in this context is mentioned by Prof. Rattinger: “Without regularly updated population figures, there is some injustice in government services of public interest.”
Apart from this fiscal relevance, the census is also important for political participation. “Changes in the official numbers of inhabitants can lead to changes in the number of constituencies or of members of municipal councils to be elected,”
says Dr. Wirth.
“In addition, it is highly important to inform the population, politicians and the scientific community about the socio-demographic composition of the population (for example, migrant background, religion, personal living arrangements),”
explains Prof. Dr. Heike Trappe, Professor in Sociology with a focus on Family Demography at Rostock University. She adds: “Providing reliable structural data on the inhabitants of Germany is a basis for intercensal updates of the population by sex, age, marital status and other variables.”
Without such reliable data obtained through the census, it would not be possible to produce high-quality intercensal updates and extrapolations.
What is more, planning in municipalities is much more efficient when small-area structural information is available. What facilities for juveniles must be invested in? What housing construction measures should be envisaged? How to plan the different infrastructural facilities? What rates of persons in need of long-term care are to be expected? These are just a few questions which the Länder and municipalities can much more easily answer and put into practical measures when the results have been processed. Efficient planning of the future of our regions benefits all of us.
Scientists are agreed that we urgently need such high-quality data to take the right political and societal decisions in the future.
