The State Statistics Bureau reports that just under 50,000 people registered online for the census so far.

Online registration is meant for Macedonians living abroad, and it was introduced after the controversial decision to include the diaspora into the census. Citizens are asked to give their state issued identification number, phone number and email, and the system also takes the IP address they are accessing from.

In-person registration in Macedonia is supposed to begin in April, but there are growing concerns about the process – not only because of its politicized nature and the inclusion of the emigrants, but because of the high coronavirus infection rate.