Solidarity

In the questionnaire, you found some questions about your ethnicity and mother tongue, the language spoken in your family and among your friends, your religion, your health status and disabilities. The answers to these questions were voluntary; nevertheless, your replies were highly appreciated.

Answering the questions related to ethnicity was important, as the replies form the legal basis for the establishment of minority self-governments and the enforcement of language rights. Apart from the census, there is no other data source regarding the ethnic and religious composition of our society.

Data on your health status and any disabilities are of particular value for programmes aimed at improving the situation of people with disabilities and ensuring equal opportunities, as such detailed information on the living conditions of people with disabilities cannot be obtained anywhere else. Census data cannot be replaced by other data sources. Your responses are also essential for the work of NGOs supporting people with disabilities.

In order to phrase questions in a way that is understandable and easy to answer for all, HCSO held extensive consultations with national minority self-governments, registered churches and organisations representing the interests of people with disabilities in Hungary, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

Therefore, taking into account the request of the representatives of ethnic minorities, the questionnaire included a question on the language spoken in the family and among friends. Representatives of the churches and experts from ethnic minority self-governments in Hungary provided expert support to HCSO in the development of the lists of answers regarding religions, denominations, churches, ethnicities and languages. In addition to consultations regarding the questions, organisations for people with disabilities also helped HCSO to make the questionnaire and the census website accessible.