Skopje, 9 December 2021 (MIA) – The 2021 census was successful, despite obstacles. Now we have to analyze data and produce the final results by end of March or beginning of April 2022. This is the easier part, as it depends solely of us, State Statistical Office (SSO) director Apostol Simovski told Thursday’s panel discussion on the 2021 census, organized by CIVIL. The census, he underlined, was successfully conducted despite obstacles such as the pandemic, political issues, summer vacations, boycott campaigns, technical issues and hacker attacks. “By conducting the census, the SSO has hopefully demonstrated that citizens can trust institutions once again,” Simovski added. According to him, the census was conducted in line with health protocols, as proven by the fact that only eight census takers got infected with COVID-19. “Nearly 5,000 people took part in the operation. Only eight census takers got sick. So far, no household has reported getting infected by census workers. This proves the efficiency of protocols,” Simovski noted. He reiterated belief that no one will be excluded from final census data. “It’s the SSO’s duty to provide accurate information to institutions, so that they can create high-quality development, education and economic policies,” Simovski said. Macedonian Chambers of Commerce vice-president Gabriela Kulebanova underlined the importance of the census for the business community, in regard to demographic changes and analysis of future economic developments. “We lost a lot by not conducting a census for 19 years and failed to reach our economic progress potential. We can’t allow this to happen again,” Kulebanova noted. She also stressed the importance of the State Statistical Office for the chamber in regard to planning future activities. Thursday's event was held as part of CIVIL's Civil Lenses project