Enquiries, Sources – Federal Population Census, 1850-2000Questionnaires

All persons residing in Switzerland at the time of census taking are required to fill out a personal questionnaire. It contains 21 questions regarding personal data:

Date of birth, gender, marital status, citizenship, place of residence five years ago, place of residence on date of birth, position in household, number of children, religion, languages, education, current employment situation, current job title, commute time to place of work or study, means of transport used, commute time (surname, first name and address for verification and further inquiry).

All households are required to fill out the household questionnaire. It contains questions regarding the household (address, telephone number) and occupants (surname, first name). The household questionnaire is used to group together all individuals living in the same household.

Owners of residential buildings and apartments or their representatives (real estate agencies) are required to fill out a building questionnaire. It contains questions regarding the building (address, type and age of building, renovations, number of apartments, number of floors, type of ownership, heating system, etc.) and apartments contained in that building (number of rooms, living space, rental amounts charged etc.).