2021 Portugal Census

City Hall - Ilhavo

We just finished filling out the 2021 census. Having lived in the U.S. for many years and responding to many requests for census information, I found the Portuguese process VERY detailed, and yet somehow comforting.

The U.S. census asks a few questions, and at this point, there are a lot of questions they don't ask, because of various restrictions. But Portugal has no such restrictions. You log onto the census website, using the code and password provided on the form they leave at your door. This quantifies the information to the local.

Some of the questions for which they wanted answers were: Where are you from, How long have you been here, When did you arrive, Have you lived out of Portugal for more than a year at any time, Do you own or rent your home, How many people live there and what are their ages, Do you have health problems with hearing, seeing, getting around, understanding, being understood, memory... What is the square footage of your house, How many rooms are there, What is your religion (Jehovah's Witnesses are listed on the form)?????

And that was all I can remember off the top of my head. Now some would rebel at the thought of revealing so much personal information to a government, but it was surprisingly reassuring, as it seemed that the questionnaire was designed to provide the country information on how to best care for it's residents.

I found out through the process that we are "reformados" or retirees. I am finally reformed after all these years.