Dwellings

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Group for Construction Statistics

Dejana Djordjevic

Head of the Group for Construction Statistics

dejana.djordjevic@stat.gov.rs

+ 381 11 2412 922 extension 260

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Data on dwellings and buildings provide information on the housing stock in the Republic Serbia. They include data on the total number, layout and main characteristics of dwellings, occupied premises and dwellings.

The data on the housing stock are collected in the scope of the statistical survey Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2022 (the Census), which represents the most massive and most complex statistical exercise through which are collected data on the population and housing stock of a country. The data are collected directly from the citizens by the interview method when the enumerators enter citizens‘ responses to census questions in electronic questionnaires using laptops.

The 2022 Census collected data on occupied, temporarily unoccupied and abandoned dwellings, dwellings used occasionally for vacation or for performing seasonal works, and on dwellings used exclusively for performing work activities, then on occupied business premises and premises occupied from necessity, as well as on the number of collective living quarters in the Republic of Serbia, as at 30 September 2022 at 24:00 (critical census moment).

The Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units (NSTJ).

Internal classifications on the type of housing unit and building in which the dwelling is located, installations in the dwelling, status of occupancy and other classifications defined for the needs of the Census in compliance with the national requirements and international recommendations..

Not applicable.

HOUSING UNITS

The 2022 Census collected data on dwellings, occupied business premises, premises occupied from necessity and collective living quarters. The definitions of housing units are the same as thosebin the previous censuses and are completely harmonised with the international recommendations.Dwelling is an interconnected construction whole intended for habitation which consists of one or several rooms with or without appropriate auxiliary premises (kitchen, storeroom, hallway, barthroom, toilet, etc.) or without auxiliary premises and with one or more separate entrances.

The Census covered only completed dwellings. A dwelling is deemed completed if all foreseen constructional, installation and finishing works are done. A dwelling is not deemed completed if the household living in it does not have another dwelling for permanent habitation

Premises that were built for business purposes and were not adapted in a dwelling, and were used during the Census for permanent habitation, were enumerated as occupied business premises (e.g. shop, office, hotel room, etc.).

Premises that are not structurally dwellings nor business premises, but were used for permanent habitation during the Census were enumerated as premises occupied from necessity (e.g. wagon, barge, tent, trailer, etc.).

Collective living quarter covers premises that are occupied for common accommodation of more than one person, and that was used during the Census for permanent habitation of at least one person whose accommodation is under the care of an institution, i.e. legal person that was founded for the purpose of providing accommodation and services to a group of persons (social welfare institutions, religious institutions, collective centres for refugees, facilities for workers‘ accommodation, hotels for singles, etc.).

Vacant dwellings in dilapidated houses, then dwellings vacated for reason of demolishment for building new structures or for the submersion of settlements in order to create an accummulation lake, because of land erosions, etc., were not enumerated.

PURPOSE OF DWELLING IN THE 2022 CENSUS

The purpose of a dwelling is defined by the occupancy type of a dweeling at the time of the Census. Dwellings by purpose are classified into five groups: occupied dwellings, temporarily unoccupied dwellings, abandoned dwellings, dwellings used occasionally for vacation and performing seasonal works, and dwellings used exclusively for performing work activities.

Occupied dwellings are dwellings that were at the time of the Census used for permanent habitation of at least one usual resident. Usual population of a place include persons residing in that place for at least 12 months without interruption before the critical census moment, as well as persons who resided in that place for less than 12 months, but intending to stay at least one year.

Temporarily unoccupied dwellings are  dwellings that were vacant at the time of the Census because they were new and still unoccupied, or were vacated for  moving, adaptation, repairs, as well as dwellings used in whole only by persons residing in the place of the Census on account of work or education, and which households reside permanently in another place.

Abandoned dwellings are dwellings that have been not visited for a longer time and were not used for habitation nor vacation and recreation.

Dwellings used occasionally are dwellings used for vacation and recreation, and dwellings used during seasonal works in agriculture.

Dwellings used exclusively for performing work activities are dwellings that have not been structurally adapted into business premises and in which nobody resides, but are used in whole for performing work activities.

Dwellings for permanent habitation comprise occupied, temporarily unoccupied or abandoned dwellings.

FLOOR SPACE OF HOUSING UNITS.

Data on useful floor space of housing units is, according to international recommendations, a mandatory characteristic for occupied dwellings, occupied business premises and premises occupied from necessity. In the 2022 Census the data for the useful floor space were collected for all housing units, except collective living quarters.

When collecting data on the total floor space, the following definition was used: useful floor space is the sum of the floor space of all the rooms, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, corridor and other auxiliary premises incorporated in the dwelling, including the floor space of loggias, balconies and terraces. The floor space of a dwelling includes also the floor space of a room or kitchen structurally separated from the main dwelling room, and used by a household during the whole year. The floor space of the dwelling includes the floor space of the room where work activities are performed if the dwelling has been used for habitation and performance of work activities.

In this Census, as in the 2011 Census, in line with the international recommendations for the calculation of the usefull floor space used was the Standard for the calculation of the usefull floor space in construction building JUS U.C2.100:2002, in force from 27 May 2002. The difference in relation to the censuses prior to 2011 is that terraces, balconies and loggias are included in whole in the dwelling floor space, and according to previous methodologies they were only partially counted, the floor space of loggias: 75% of the total floor space, covered terraces: 50% of the total floor space, balconies and open terraces: 25% of the total floor space.

ROOMS IN DWELLINGS

According to the international recommendations, the question on the number of rooms in a dwelling was not a compulsory topic, therefore countries were free to decide whether they would collect those data in the Census. In the 2022 Census, the data on the number of rooms were collected for all housing units, except for collective ones.

When entering the data on the number of rooms in a dwelling the following definition was used: A room is a space inside the dwelling with a floor space of at least 4 m² separated from other premises by walls, to a height of at least two meters from the floor. Rooms with less than 4 m² are not shown in the total number of rooms but their floor space is counted in the total floor space of a dwelling.

In this Census, as in the 2011 Census, pursuant to the international recommendations the aforesaid definition was used reading that a room can have a floor space of at least 4 m², while in earlier censuses the smallest floor space of a room was 6 m².

There are presents all the dwellings and particularly the occupied ones by number of rooms. Dwellings are divided into nine groups: one-room, two-room, three-room, four-room, five-room, six-room, seven-room, eight-room dwellings and dwellings with nine rooms and more. A one-room dwelling has one room with kitchen and other auxiliary premises or one room without kitchen, or without other auxiliary premises. Two-room, three-room, four-room, five-room, six-room, seven-room, eight-room, nine-room and multi-room dwelling has two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or more rooms with kitchen and auxiliary premises or without them.

AUXILIARY PREMISES IN DWELLINGS

According to the international recommendations, the question on auxiliary premises in dwellings is a compulsory topic for bathroom and toilet in dwellings, while as far as ktichen is concerned countries are free to decide whether they will collect these data. In the 2022 Census, the data on the availability of bathroom, toilet and kitchen were collected for all housing units, except for collective ones.

When entering the data on the availability of auxiliary premises in dwellings the following definitions were used:

− A dwelling is deemed to have a bathroom if there is in the dwelling a separate premise with a bathtub or shower with sewerage installations, whether the latter are connected to a public, i.e. house system or not;

− A dwelling is deemed to have a toilet/WC if it is situated in a separate premise of the dwelling or in the bathroom. The toilet can be a flush-type or non-flush-type. A flush-type toilet is a toilet that is cleaned by a flow of water coming from a water supply system through a flush valve (toilet tank or patent-pending flush);

− A dwelling is deemed to have a kitchen if there is a premise in the dwelling that has been intended for cooking at the moment of construction or later on after adaptation. Kitchinette (a ktichen with a floor space less than 4 m2) is also considered a kitchen, and so is a kitchen constructionally separated from the dwelling if the household uses it all around the year as part of the dwelling.

PERSONS AND HOUSEHOLDS IN DWELLINGS AND OCCUPIED PREMISES

In line with international recommendations, the concept of “usual resident population” was applied in the 2022 Census for the purpose of calculating the number of persons in a dwelling/occupied premise. The usual resident population of a selected place include persons living continuously in that place for at least 12 months before the census critical moment, as well as persons living in that place less than 12 months, but with the intention to stay there for at least one year. All persons in a dwelling/occupied premise, who are usual residents of that place, are included in the number of persons.

A household is every family or other community of persons that live together and share their income for providing subsistence means (housing, food, etc.), then every person living alone and not being a member of another household, as well as every collective household. The number of households in a dwelling/occupied premise includes individual households (one-person and multiple person households) and collective households.

DENSITY STANDARD

Density standard is presented in two ways: useful floor space per occupant, and number of rooms per occupant. Useful floor space per occupant is a derived topic and is obtained by dividing the useful floor space of a dwelling by the number of its occupants. Dwellings by average useful floor space per occupant are classified into seven groups. Number of rooms per occupant is also a derived topic and it is obtained by dividing the total number of rooms by the number of occupants in a dwelling. Dwellings by number of rooms per occupant are classified into eight groups.

TYPE OF OWNERSHIP OF DWELLINGS

According to international recommendations, the question of ownership of dwellings is a core topic and implies the presentation of data both by type of ownership and occupancy status.

In the 2022 Census, the data on ownership of dwellings were collected whether they were occupied or not. Answers to the question concerning the ownership were also given for dwellings used occasionally for vacation and recreation or for performing seasonal agricultural works, as well as for dwellings that were used at the time of the census for performing work activities but were not constructionally adapted in business premises. Data on ownership were not collected for occupied business premises, premises occupied from necessity and collective housing units. Question on the ownership of a dwelling was formulated pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. Based on the answers provided by the respondent, the enumerator ticked one of the proposed answer: private ownership  (dwelling owned by oner or more physical persons); public/State-owned ownership (dwelling owned by the Republic of Serbia, autonomous province or local authority unit);  other forms of ownership (dwelling that cannot be classified into nay of the above forms of ownership, e.g. dwelling in cooperative ownership).

OCCUPANCY STATUS

According to international recommendations, the question on the occupancy status is a core topic and is to be given for all occupied dwellings.

Based on the answer provided by the respondent for dwelling, the enumerator ticked one of the proposed answers: ownership – when one of the household member residings in that dwelling is the owner of the whole dwelling or of a part thereof; rent/subtenancy – when a household uses a dwelling for a indefinite time, based on a written agreement or oranl agreement with the owner of tenant of the dwelling; relatives – when a household residing in a dwelling is related to the owner or tenant of the dwelling (lives with parents, children, relatives, etc.); оther – for every collective household that is permanently residing in a dwelling (e.g. safe house).

According to the international recommendations, the question on water supply and heating installations in dwellings is a core topic, while for electricity energy, sewage and gas installations the countries are allowed to independently decide whether they will collect these data in the Census. In the 2022 Census, the data on installations were collected for all housing units, except the collective ones.

A dwelling is deemed to have electricity energy, water supply, sewage and heating installations if there are corresponding installations at least in one room, whether connected to the public supply system or some other facilities.

According to the enumeration instructions, a dwelling is deemed to have:

• Electric energy installations if there are in the dwelling or at least in one of the rooms electricity energy installations, whether they are connected or not to the public network;
• Water supply system if there are at least in one room waterworks installations, whether they are connected or not to the public, local, or rural water supply system, pneumatic pump station and similar pumps or are not connected at all;
• Sewage disposal if there are in any of the rooms in the dwelling sewage installations, whether they are connected to the public sewage disposal system, septic tank, river, open canal, etc., or are not connected at all.
• Heating installations if those installations are installed in at least one of the rooms of the dwelling, whether the heat is delivered from the public/local heating plant (central heating), or the rooms of the dwellings are heated with the heat delivered from the joint boiler room in the building or dwelling (district dwelling).

The dwelling has gas installations only if the gas is delivered by the network.

TYPE OF ENERGY SOURCES USED FOR HEATING

Dwellings by the type of energy sources used for heating are classified into six categories according to the international recommendations: dwellings using for heating any type of coal (hard coal, brown coal - lignite, dried lignite or lignite briquettes), dwellings using for heating any type of wood, dwellings using for heating fuel oil, dwellings using for heating natural gas or liquified petroleum gas (propane, butane, and propane and butane mixture), dwellings using for heating electricity, and dwellings using for heating any other type of energy source (solar, geothermal and wind energy).

Data on the type of energy sources used for the heating of dwellings were collected in the 2022 Census only for occupied dwellings without central heating, i.e. dwellings that do not use heat supplied by a public/local heating  plant. As laid down in the methodology for the 2022 Census, if several energy sources are used for the heating of dwellings, the predominant one was indicated. 

Dwellings, occupied premises and buildings

Occupied dwellings, temporarily unoccupied and abandoned dwellings, dwellings used occasionally for vacation and for performing seasonal works, and dwellings used exclusively for performing work activities, occupied business premises and premises occupied from necessity, as well as collective living quarters.

The dare are presented in compliance with the Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units – NSTJ („Official Gazette of the RS“, no. 109/09 and 46/10) that defines statistical functional territorial units, i.e. three hierarchical levels: NSTJ 1 ( Serbia – north and Srbia - south), NSTJ 2 (regions) and NSTJ 3 (areas)

The data on the level of municipalities/cities and settlements are presented in compliance with the Law on the Territorial Organisation of the Republic of Serbia (“Official Gazette of the RS:, no. 129/2007, 18/2016, 47/2018 and 9/2020 – State law).

To present the data by type of settlement the so-called administrative and legal criterion was used, according to which settlements are divided into “urban” (which received this status by legal act of local authorities’ units) and “Other”.

The 2022 Census was not conducted on the territory of the AP Kosovo and Metohija.

Data are expressed as at the critical census moment (30 September at 24:00). 

Not applicable.

Number of dwellings. 

Useful floor space in m².

Data are expressed as at the critical census moment (30 September at 24:00).

The 2022 Census was conducted pursuant to the:

– Law on the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2022 (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 9/2020 and 35/2021),

– Law on Official Statistics (“Official Gazette of the RS, no. 104/09, 24/11"),

​– Decision on the Programme of Official Statistics over the period 2021 - 2025,

​– Regulation on Establishing the Plan of Official Statistics for 2022.

 (Documents | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

Not applicable.

Data confidentiality is regulated by the:

- Law on the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2022 (“Official Gazette of the RS“, no. 9/2020 and 35/2021),

- Law on Official Statistics (“Official Gazette of the RS, no. 104/09, 24/11")

- Rulebook on the Protection of Statistical Data in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.

(Documents | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

Pursuant to the Law on the 2022 Census (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 9/2020 and 35/2021)

and Law on Official Statistics („Official Gazette of the RS“, number 104/09), all the data collected in the Census shall be used exclusively for statistical purposes and shall be published as aggregate data, thus complete secrecy of citizens’ data shall be secured.

Besides, pursuant to the Law on the 2022 Census the enumerators, instructors and other persons engaged in the Census are due to keep all the data on the enumerated persons secret, as well as to make strictly sure that the data provided by the respondents are accurate.

The Rulebook on the Way and Procedure for the Provision of Data Produced by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS, 2017), regulates the way and procedure of providing data to users in compliance with official statistics main principles and free access to information of public interest.

(https://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2295/pravilniksrb.pdf)

The release calendar is available on the SORS website. 

(Release Calendar | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

The Plan of the Release of the 2022 Census data is available on the website dedicated to the Census.

(PUBLICATION PLAN OF THE 2022 CENSUS DATA | ABOUT CENSUS (stat.gov.rs))

The release calendar is available on the SORS website. 

(Release Calendar | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

The Plan of the Release of the 2022 Census data is available on the website dedicated to the Census.

(PUBLICATION PLAN OF THE 2022 CENSUS DATA | ABOUT CENSUS (stat.gov.rs))

Census data are available on the SORS website and website dedicated to the Census (the dissemination database and census books in .pdf format). In addition, the census books are available also in printed form.

Access to data is guaranteed to all users at the same time.

Census data published on the SORS website are available free of charge.

Special requests are processed pursuant to the Rulebook on Implementing the Price Policy in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS, 2011)(Documents | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia) and Price List of Special Services of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (https://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2569/cenovnikposebnihusluga.pdf).

Pursuant to the Rulebook on the Way and Procedure for the Provision of Data Produced by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS, 2017), the Office enables the access to individual data without the identifiers (anonymised microdata) 

(Microdata | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

Census data are published in ten-year periodicity.

Statistical release – First Results of the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2022.

(https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2022/Html/G20221350.html)

Book S1. Number and Floor Space of Housing Units 

Book S2. Number of rooms and auxiliary premises in dwelling

Book S3. Dwellings by density standard, type of ownership and occupancy status

Census | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

The dissemination database is available on the SORS website and website dedicated to the Census. 

Dissemination database search (stat.gov.rs)

Pursuant to the Rulebook on the Way and Procedure for the Provision of Data Produced by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS, 2017), the Office enables the access to individual data without the identifiers (anonymised microdata). 

  The request may be submitted by:
  • аccredited R&D organisations (institutions, faculties, universities and centers of excellence);
  • researchers and  doctoral students;
  • institutions implementing a special project financed by national or international research programmes.

(Microdata | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia))

Not applicable.

SORS website and the website dedicated to the Census contain available census forms in the Serbian and English languages, as well as in 20 languages of ethnic minorities.

Methodological materials are also avaialble:

– Мethodological instructions,

– Guidelines for Enumerators,

– Multilingual Collection

METODOLOGICAL MATERIALS | ABOUT CENSUS (stat.gov.rs)

A large amount of internal procedures and guidelines was produced for the purpose of carrying out selected activities. 

SORS Quality Management System is based on the European Statistical Code of Practice and is completely adapted to statistical requirements because the quality of statistical processes, final results, i.e. data and service provision to users is constantly improving.

 (Quality management system | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

Field quality control of the data collected through the Census was conducted from 2 to 11 December 2022 on a sample of 250 census areas in order to assess coverage errors and census data quality.

The content of the Census is defined in compliance with international recommendations and national requirements. Namely, the content of the Census includes a set of main characteristics defined in the Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for Censuses of Population and Housing Units around 2020, as well as some supplementary characteristics of national interest, i.e. of interest for the creators of State policies and final users. Characteristics not foreseen in the Recommendations but being of interest to users are also included.​

The Survey on User Satisfaction is conducted by the Office every two years.

Results of the User satisfaction survey,2021 (stat.gov.rs)

The 2022 Census Methodology is completely harmonised with international standards (Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for Censuses of Population and Housing Units around 2020 and Regulation (EC) of the European Parliament and Council number 763/2008).

The content of the Census includes all characteristics defined by the Law on the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2022 („Official Gazette of the RS, no. 9/2020 and 35/2021").

(Documents | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

In  order to assess coverage errors made on the field Quality Control was carried out.

Observation: pursuant to the Plan for the Release of Final Census Results, the results of the Quality Control will be available in the first half of 2024.

Not applicable.

Quality Control will serve to measure coverage errors and errors in responses to selected questions during data collection on the field.

• Preliminary results were published on 21 December 2022.

• Final census results (dissemination of the final results of the Census will take place successively from April 2023 to June 2024)

The data on housing units are published in compliance with the Plan of 2022 Census Result Release.

The 2022 Census methodology is completely aligned with international standards (Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for Censuses of Population and Housing Units around 2020 and Regulation (EC) of the European Parliament and Council number 763/2008), thus international data comparability is provided.

The same concepts were applied on the whole territory of the Republic of Serbia.

The definitions of housing units are the same as those in the previous census and are completely aligned with international recommendations.

Comparative overview of the number of dwellings in 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002, 2011 and 2022 (additional explanations are contained in annex).

2022 Census data may differ from the data of other statistical surveys due to the differences in methodological solutions and applied definitions. For more information see the metadata specific for each domain.

2022 Census results are internally consistent.

The funds for carrying out the Census are provided partly from the budget of the Republic of Serbia and partly from EC funds under IPA 2018 National Programme.

The main principles and standards for the revision of the published statistical data are defined by the General Revision Policy of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. The General Revision Policy is harmonised with the guidelines from ESS Guidelines on Revision Policy adopted by the European Statistical System Committee.

  (Documents | Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia)

Not applicable.

The data on housing stock were collected in the scope of the statistical survey Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2022, which is the most massive and most complex statistical exercise through which are collected data on the population and housing stock of a country. The data were collected directly from the citizens, by the interview method.  

Ten-year dynamics of data collection.

Мethodological, organisational and IT solutions were tested during the Pilot Census that was carried out in 2019 on a sample of 260 enumeration areas.

The 2022 Census was carried out from 1 to 31 October. The enumerators used laptops to enter citizens‘ responses in electronic questionnaires (CAPI method), while in unique situations, the citizens were enabled, in arrangement with their enumerator, to set a time for a telephone interview (CATI method), when the enumerators also entered the responses in electronic questionnaires. The Household Questionnaire (form P-2) was used to collect the data on housing units.

Field data collection was extended for 7 days in certain municipalities/cities. Telephone on-call duties were also organised in order to enable the citizens who were not enumerated for whatever reason to contact an enumerator or to be enumerated by telephone. Telephone enumeration lasted until 17 November 2022.

​To realise the Census about 14 000 enumerators, 2 200 instructors, 260 municipal coordinators and 20 regional coordinators were engaged. 

In order to reduce to the minimum extent data entry errors, criteria of logical control were incorporated in the data entry application (IST-CAPI). Two types of criteria were used -  so-called weak criteria aiming at alerting the enumerator on illogicalities between the data entered, but still allowing data entry, and so-called strong criteria aiming at enabling further data entry until the error is corrected.

Apart from this, during field data collection instructors and coordinators controlled the coverage and quality of the materials entered by using the monitoring application, which was important at the very beginning of the Census in order to point out to the enumerators the errors, thus improving the quality of the materials entered.

During data processing, rules for logical control of the questionnaires entered were defined and used for the whole questionnaires, mainly in the form of automatic corrections.

In order to check the quality of the data and coverage, control tables are produced. 2022 Census data are compared with the results of the previous censuses.

To check more intense construction of residential buildings between the two last censuses one used available administrative sources (central records of grouped procedures that contain complete data related to approving the process of building constructional structures for issued building permits). 

The IST-CAPI application developed in the Office was used for data entry.

In order to improve the coverage the method of imputration from administrative sources was used for persons for which it was found that they resided during the 2022 Census in the Republic of Serbia, and which, for whatever reason, were not enumerated. The imputation of persons affected insignificantly the change in the structure of the occupancy status of the enumerated dwellings (after the imputation of persons 3.7% of dwellings obtained the status of occupied dwelling).

Not applicable.

Not applicable.