Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on population and housing censuses (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-07-09
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU statistics, census, data collection, data transmission, housing, population census

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REGULATION (EC) No 763/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 9 July 2008

on population and housing censuses

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251
of the Treaty (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Commission (Eurostat) needs to be in possession of
sufficiently reliable, detailed and comparable data on the
population and housing, in order to enable the Community
to fulfil the tasks assigned to it, in particular by Articles 2
and 3 of
the Treaty. Sufficient comparability must be
ensured at Community level as regards methodology,
definitions and the programme of the statistical data and
the metadata.

social

and environmental policies

Periodic statistical data on the population and the main
family, social, economic and housing characteristics of
persons are necessary for the study and definition of
regional,
affecting
particular sectors of the Community. In particular, there
is a need to collect detailed information on housing in
support of various Community activities, such as the
promotion of social inclusion and the monitoring of social
cohesion at
the
the protection of
level, or
environment and the promotion of energy efficiency.

regional

In view of methodological and technological developments,
best practices should be identified and the enhancement of
the data sources and methodologies used for censuses in
the Member States should be fostered.

In order to ensure the comparability of the data provided by
the Member States and for reliable overviews to be drawn
up at Community level, the data used should refer to the
same reference year.

(1) Opinion of the European Parliament of 20 February 2008 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 23 June
2008.

(6)

(7)

(8)

In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of
17 February 1997 on Community Statistics (2), which
constitutes the reference framework for the provisions of
this Regulation, it is necessary for the collection of statistics
to conform to the principles of impartiality, in particular
objectivity and scientific independence, as well as transpar-
ency, reliability, relevance, cost-effectiveness and statistical
confidentiality.

The transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality
is governed by Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and Council
Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990
on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidenti-
ality to the Statistical Office of the European Commu-
nities (3). Measures that are taken in accordance with those
Regulations ensure the physical and logical protection of
confidential data and that no unlawful disclosure or non-
statistical use occurs when Community statistics are
produced and disseminated.

In the production and dissemination of Community
statistics under this Regulation, the national and Commu-
nity statistical authorities should take account of
the
principles set out in the European Statistics Code of Practice
adopted on 24 February 2005 by the Statistical Programme
Committee, established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC,
Euratom (4) and attached to the Recommendation of the
Commission on the independence, integrity and account-
ability of the national and Community statistical author-
ities.

as well

this Regulation, namely the
Since the objectives of
collection and compilation of comparable and comprehen-
sive Community statistics on population and housing,
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, due
to the absence of common statistical features and quality
lack of methodological
a
requirements
transparency, and can therefore, by way of a common
statistical framework, be better achieved at Community
level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance
with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of
the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportion-
ality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go
beyond what
to achieve those
objectives.

is necessary in order

as

(2) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ
L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(3) OJ L 151, 15.6.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1882/2003.

(4) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.

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(9)

(10)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (1).

for

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to
establish the conditions for the establishment of subsequent
reference years and the adoption of the programme of the
statistical data and the metadata. Since those measures are
of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it
with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(11) The Statistical Programme Committee has been consulted
in accordance with Article 3 of Decision 89/382/EEC,
Euratom,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes common rules for the decennial
provision of comprehensive data on population and housing.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall
apply:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

‘population’ shall mean the national, regional and local
population at its usual residence at the reference date;

‘housing’ shall mean living quarters and buildings as well as
housing arrangements and the relationship between the
population and living quarters at the national, regional and
local levels at the reference date;

‘buildings’ shall mean permanent buildings that contain
living quarters designed for human habitation, or conven-
tional dwellings that are reserved for seasonal or secondary
use or that are vacant;

‘usual residence’ shall mean the place where a person
normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of
temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays,
visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or
religious pilgrimage.

The following persons alone shall be considered to be usual
residents of the geographical area in question:

(i)

those who have lived in their place of usual residence
for a continuous period of at least 12 months before
the reference date; or

(ii)

those who arrived in their place of usual residence
during the 12 months before the reference date with
the intention of staying there for at least one year.

Where the circumstances described in point (i) or (ii) cannot
be established, ‘usual residence’ shall mean the place of legal
or registered residence;

(e)

‘reference date’ shall mean the date to which the data of the
in accordance with Arti-
respective Member State refer,
cle 5(1);

(f)

‘national’ shall mean on the territory of a Member State;

(g)

(h)

(i)

‘regional’ shall mean at NUTS level 1, NUTS level 2 or
NUTS level 3, as defined in the classification of territorial
units for statistics (NUTS), established by Regulation (EC)
No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council (2) in its version applicable at the reference date;

‘local’ shall mean at Local Administrative Units level 2 (LAU
level 2);

‘essential features of population and housing censuses’ shall
mean individual enumeration, simultaneity, universality
within a defined territory, availability of small-area data and
defined periodicity.

Article 3

Data submission

Member States shall submit to the Commission (Eurostat) data
on the population covering determined demographic, social and
economic characteristics of persons, families and households, as
well as on housing at a national, regional and local level, as set
out in the Annex.

Article 4

Data sources

1. Member States may base the statistics on different data
sources, in particular on:

(a)

conventional censuses;

(b)

register-based censuses;

(c)

(d)

(e)

a combination of conventional censuses and sample
surveys;

a combination of
surveys;

register-based censuses and sample

a combination of register-based censuses and conventional
censuses;

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision

2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

(2) OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 176/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 61, 5.3.2008, p. 1).

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(f)

a combination of register-based censuses, sample surveys
and conventional censuses; and

format to be used for the transmission of the required data, in
accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Ar-
ticle 8(2).

(g)

appropriate surveys with rotating samples (rolling cen-
suses).

2. Member States shall take all measures necessary to meet the
requirements of data protection. The Member States' own data
protection provisions shall not be affected by this Regulation.

3. Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) of
any revision or correction of the statistics supplied under this
Regulation, as well as of any changes in the chosen data sources
and methodology, no later than one month before the release of
the revised data.

4. Member States shall ensure that the data sources and the
methodology used to satisfy the requirements of this Regulation
meet, to the highest possible extent, the essential features of
population and housing censuses, as defined in Article 2(i). They
shall make continuous efforts to enhance compliance with those
essential features.

Article 5

Data transmission

1.
Each Member State shall determine a reference date. The
reference date shall fall in a year specified on the basis of this
Regulation (reference year). The first reference year shall be 2011.
The Commission (Eurostat) shall establish subsequent reference
years in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 8(3). Reference years shall fall during the
beginning of every decade.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with
final, validated and aggregated data and with metadata, as
required by this Regulation, within 27 months of the end of the
reference year.

3. The Commission (Eurostat) shall adopt a programme of the
statistical data and of the metadata to be transmitted to fulfil the
requirements of
in accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 8(3).

this Regulation,

4. The Commission (Eurostat)
the technical
specifications of the topics as required by this Regulation as
well as of their breakdowns, in accordance with the regulatory
procedure referred to in Article 8(2).

shall adopt

5. Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat)
the validated data and metadata in electronic form. The
Commission (Eurostat) shall adopt the appropriate technical

In the event of a revision or correction in accordance with
6.
Article 4(3), Member States shall transmit the modified data to
the Commission (Eurostat) no later than on the date of release of
the revised data.

Article 6

Quality assessment

1.
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following quality
assessment dimensions shall apply to the data to be transmitted:

— ‘relevance’ shall refer to the degree to which statistics meet

the current and potential needs of users,

— ‘accuracy’ shall refer to the closeness of estimates to the

unknown true values,

— ‘timeliness’ and ‘punctuality’ shall refer to the delay between

the reference period and the availability of results,

— ‘accessibility’ and ‘clarity’ shall refer to the conditions under
and modalities by which users can obtain, use and interpret
data,

— ‘comparability’ shall refer to the measurement of the impact
of differences in applied statistical concepts and measure-
ment tools and procedures when statistics are compared
between geographical areas, sectoral domains, or over time,
and

— ‘coherence’ shall refer to the adequacy of the data to be

reliably combined in different ways and for various uses.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with
a report on the quality of the data transmitted. In this context,
Member States shall report on the extent to which the chosen
data sources and methodology meet the essential features of
population and housing censuses as defined in Article 2(i).

In applying the quality assessment dimensions laid down in
3.
paragraph 1 to the data covered by this Regulation,
the
modalities and structure of the quality reports shall be defined
in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in
Article 8(2). The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality
of the data transmitted.

in cooperation with the
4. The Commission (Eurostat),
competent authorities of
the Member States, shall provide
methodological recommendations designed to ensure the quality
of the data and metadata produced, acknowledging, in particular,
the Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for
the 2010 Censuses of Population and Housing.

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Article 7

Implementing measures

1. The following measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the
regulatory procedure referred to in Article 8(2):

(a)

technical specifications of the topics as required by this
Regulation as well as of their breakdowns as provided for in
Article 5(4);

(b)

the establishment of the appropriate technical format as
provided for in Article 5(5); and

(c) modalities and structure of the quality reports as provided

for in Article 6(3).

2. The following measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation, designed to amend non-essential elements of
this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred
to in Article 8(3):

the
3. Consideration shall be given to the principles that
benefits of the measures taken must outweigh their costs and
that additional costs and burdens must
remain within a
reasonable limit.

Article 8

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical
Programme Committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7
of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to
(4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having
regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

(a)

(b)

the establishment of the reference years, as provided for in
Article 5(1); and

Article 9

Entry into force

the adoption of the programme of the statistical data and
the metadata, as provided for in Article 5(3).

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 9 July 2008.

For the European Parliament

The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council

The President

J.-P. JOUYET

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ANNEX

Topics to be covered in Population and Housing Censuses

1.

Population topics

1.1.

Obligatory topics for the geographical levels: NUTS 3, LAU 2

1.1.1.

Non-derived topics

— Place of usual residence,

— sex,

— age,

— legal marital status,

— country/place of birth,

— country of citizenship,

— previous place of usual residence and date of arrival in the current place; or place of usual residence one

year prior to the census,

— relationships between household members

1.1.2.

Derived topics

— Total population,

— locality,

— household status,

— family status,

— type of family nucleus,

— size of family nucleus,

— type of private household,

— size of private household

1.2.

Obligatory topics for the geographical levels: national level, NUTS 1, NUTS 2

1.2.1.

Non-derived topics

— Place of usual residence,

— location of place of work,

— sex,

— age,

— legal marital status,

— current activity status,

— occupation,

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— industry (branch of economic activity),

— status in employment,

— educational attainment,

— country/place of birth,

— country of citizenship,

— ever resided abroad and year of arrival in the country (from 1980),

— previous place of usual residence and date of arrival in the current place; or place of usual residence one

year prior to the census,

— relationships between household members,

— tenure status of households

1.2.2.

Derived topics

— Total population,

— locality,

— household status,

— family status,

— type of family nucleus,

— size of family nucleus,

— type of private household,

— size of private household

2.

Housing topics

2.1.

Obligatory topics for the geographical levels: NUTS 3, LAU 2

2.1.1.

Non-derived topics

— Type of living quarters,

— location of living quarters,

— occupancy status of conventional dwellings,

— number of occupants,

— useful floor space and/or number of rooms of housing units,

— dwellings by type of building,

— dwellings by period of construction

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2.1.2.

Derived topics

— Density standard

2.2.

Obligatory topics for the geographical levels: national level, NUTS 1, NUTS 2

2.2.1.

Non-derived topics

— Housing arrangements,

— type of living quarters,

— location of living quarters,

— occupancy status of conventional dwellings,

— type of ownership,

— number of occupants,

— useful floor space and/or number of rooms of housing units,

— water supply system,

— toilet facilities,

— bathing facilities,

— type of heating,

— dwellings by type of building,

— dwellings by period of construction

2.2.2.

Derived topics

— Density standard