Census in Hungary: where have 400 thousand Hungarians gone?

The latest census in Hungary has been completed by the deadline by 4.6 million households and 9.2 million individuals, or 96 percent of the estimated population, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday.

Questionnaires were filled out electronically in person and online between October 1 and 19, the KSH noted in a statement, in what was the last traditional census in Hungary.

Fully 7 million individual questionnaires were returned from 3.2 million households online in three weeks — an outstandingly short period of time in international comparison, it said.

For the first time in Hungary, the census was carried out fully electronically, while missing data was filled in from state databases.

Data for the next census will be supplied from administrative sources, KSH said.

Preliminary data will be published in the first quarter of 2023, while detailed data is scheduled to be released in the autumn. Decision-makers, researchers and economists will make use of the data, while market researchers and statisticians will also have access to the results for compiling indicators such as GDP per capita, income or consumption.

The results will also provide important information about local supply, service and infrastructure needs, as well as aiding businesses to plan their activities with greater certainty.

Where could almost 400 thousand Hungarians have mysteriously disappeared to?

According to Népszava, the KSH could have received data on up to 9.3 million citizens, while the population is 9.68 million.

Where could almost 400 thousand Hungarians have mysteriously disappeared to? The difference could simply be due to the fact that so many people did not fill in the questionnaire, but the paper’s sources say there could be another reason.

Many people may already be living abroad, and have no home in Hungary, so were not included in the census in the first place, or even if they do have a property in Hungary, they did not receive the census invitation.

But other oddities have also emerged: several enumerators have confirmed that parents have entered the details of their children working abroad, meaning that the actual shortfall may be even greater.

As we wrote on Monday, deaths exceed births in October, details HERE.

Read alsoLife expectancy has fallen dramatically in Hungary

Source: MTI, Népszava