The U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia Kate Byrnes, supported the adoption of the Census Law in the Parliament. In an interview with the Voice of America, she said that this is an important step forward, because in the country the population and property have not been counted for almost 20 years, and this statistical operation is crucial for creating future development policies.

First of all, I am very happy that the Law on Census was passed in the Parliament. Moreover, it passed with the support of two opposition partners, and the government coalition. This is an important step. Macedonia has not had a census for almost 20 years, and this has affected the policy-making process, as accurate population data is an important part of planning for the future. We expect the government to ensure that the census is conducted by professionals, which will provide information that will help the country in the future, Byrnes said.

According to the Law, the census in Macedonia will be conducted from April 1 to 21.

Since the country’s independence, two full censuses have been conducted, one partial in 1991, and the attempt of population census organized by the VMRO-DPMNE government in 2011 failed.