Let’s review our data in the population register!
In three months’ time, on 28 December, the big Estonian e-census will be launched. During the census, all people and their dwellings are counted. In order to do that and simplify the census, all data in registers must be gathered. Although most of this work can be done automatically, it does not yet work with a push of a button, instead everyone needs to contribute.
Let’s review our data in the population register!
In three months’ time, on 28 December, the big Estonian e-census will be launched. During the census, all people and their dwellings are counted. In order to do that and simplify the census, all data in registers must be gathered. Although most of this work can be done automatically, it does not yet work with a push of a button, instead everyone needs to contribute.
Most important data are received from the population and building registers
Data from around 30 databases are used for the population census. The most important of these are the population register and register of buildings. Each person can change their own data in the population register. The register includes information on a person’s ethnic nationality, place of residence, knowledge of languages, education and family.
Place of residence is used for support payments and development of services
The data of the population register are used for fulfilling the public duties assigned to the state and local government, for example, the provision of healthcare, school education or road construction. These are offered on the basis of the main data entered in the population register. Such data are also used when applying for a place in a kindergarten, participating in elections or when planning and paying support, for example, family allowance or various subsistence benefits.
Several addresses can be recorded as place of residence
To develop such services and grant support, the main information is the place of residence data. It should be noted that it is possible to enter several addresses in the population register. If a person has more than one permanent residence, one of these should be selected as the main residence and the other residences can be registered as additional addresses.
Data accuracy is becoming more important
A missing address in the population register has been a problem last year when applying for state or local government support or when using their services. One reason why people were compelled to correct their address or enter an additional address in the population register were restrictions on going to Estonian islands during the corona pandemic. Persons who had registered their summer cottage or country home address on one of the small islands were allowed to visit the island despite the restrictions in place.
The Ministry of the Interior has made great efforts in the past year to make changing and collecting data as convenient as possible; nevertheless, the state cannot always improve people’s data for them. The most recent public opinion survey, conducted last fall, revealed that only one fifth of the respondents had visited the e-population register during the previous year. The good news is that the majority of them had also reviewed and corrected their data.
Please find a few minutes to check your data in the population register – e-mail, phone, place of residence and ethnic nationality. This way we can collect the most accurate and reliable data, which can be used to make important decisions in the country and quickly inform people when necessary.