More than 35,000 people filled in the census electronic form online within the first twelve hours of the census, which will take one month, the country's National Statistical Institute announced.
Bulgarians and foreigners residing in Bulgaria have the option of filling in the census form electronically or being visited by census workers. A total of 52,000 census workers have been mobilised. The previous census, held in 2001, found that Bulgaria had 7,932,984 citizens.
From 1 to 9 February, the census will take place only online. From 10 to 28 February census workers will visit citizens in their homes. Anyone who refuses to participate in the census will be fined the equivalent of 60 euros.
Each census worker is expected to visit between 200 and 250 people, covering 80 houses or apartments. The census website is accessible only to people in Bulgaria.
Since 1989 many Bulgarians have chosen to live abroad, especially after 2001, when visa restrictions for Bulgarians were lifted in the EU's borderless Schengen area. Those Bulgarians are expected to be accounted for by censuses conducted in their countries of residence.
Internet forums were quite active yesterday, with many people complaining from what they see as "stupid" or unclear questions. Most of the questions are harmonised with those in the other EU member countries, but some appear to be an initiative of the country's statistical institute.
Many complained of the question on the head of the family, an old-fashioned sexist term, they said, with little relevance in modern society.
For the first time ever, census workers have been instructed to account for the homeless, present in particular in the big cities. During the year, similar censuses will be conducted across the EU, covering some 500 million people.
