Press release No. 18 of May 18, 2022

• Interviewer identity card serves as legitimation
• All appointments for face-to-face interviews are made in writing

• Interviewers are carefully selected and trained

   

WIESBADEN - Across Germany, approximately 100,000 interviewers collect information for the 2022 Census as of 15 May, the reference date. The interviewers contact the residents at selected addresses for short face-to-face interviews. They will always show their interviewer identity card which is only valid in connection with an official photo identification.

“In any case, the interviewers will notify respondents in writing of their visit,” said Katja Wilken, overall project leader of the 2022 Census at the Federal Statistical Office. "They will not turn up unannounced." The notification will contain the date and a time slot for the visit as well as the contact details of the interviewer. You may change the appointment by contacting the interviewer. If you are unsure, please contact the responsible survey office. The interviewers will not call the respondents, unless the respondents telephoned them first.

Interviewers are carefully selected and trained
The 2022 Census interviewers are volunteers who have been carefully selected, recruited and trained by the municipal survey offices. The survey offices can even request a certificate of good conduct when recruiting interviewers. "The municipalities have a great deal of experience in selecting poll workers and other volunteers,“ said Katja Wilken. It is laid down by law that the interviewers' reliability and discretion must be ensured in the census. Therefore, they have committed themselves to confidentiality.
 
Katja Wilken stressed: "The interviewers and the municipalities are making a decisive local contribution to the success of the 2022 Census, and I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication."

Short interviews can be held at the front door or outside with minimum contact
The face-to-face interviews will be short, with little contact and can be carried out at the front door or outside. "There is no need for respondents to let the interviewer enter their home," clarified Katja Wilken. After the short face-to-face interview, respondents can answer all further questions online. The basic rule is: the 2022 Census asks no questions about bank details or income! All questions have been published (in German) in the specimen questionnaires on the census website at www.zensus2022.de.

In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, all interviewers are obliged to observe the legal rules for infection control.

Further information on the 2022 Census and pictures for reproduction are provided at www.zensus2022.de. If you are interested, we will be pleased to find you interview partners to discuss census issues.

Follow us on www.twitter.com/zensus2022!

For further information: www.zensus2022.de/contact