Russians Will Fill Out Rosstat Surveys Online

Rosstat (Federal State Statistics Service), as part of the Strategiya razvitiya gosudarstvennoy statistiki do 2030 goda (Strategy for the Development of State Statistics Through 2030), plans to significantly change how it conducts population surveys. Data already held in state information systems (GIS) is expected to become the primary source of information, while online self-completion by citizens will become the preferred way to collect missing data. A key element will be the Statisticheskiy demograficheskiy reyestr (Statistical Demographic Register), which will combine administrative records with respondents' answers.

In effect, the statistical agency is moving toward a model built around integrated government data, digital registries, automated processing and AI. That means people will have to answer fewer questions themselves, while surveys can be completed more quickly. The service will also be designed for people with different levels of digital skills. For the government, the shift will provide more up-to-date data that can be used to manage the economy and social services.

Future: GIS Integration and Electronic Interviewers

Under the Strategy, the share of indicators generated using administrative and big data is expected to increase almost tenfold by 2030, reaching 50%. Development will therefore proceed along several tracks. These include integrating statistics with GIS, including automatically prefilled questionnaires; using Big Data and administrative records instead of asking people to provide information that is already known; and deploying AI algorithms to detect errors, analyze information from multiple sources and model missing data. Statistics is also likely to be affected by the broader development of voice interfaces, including an "electronic interviewer" capable of reproducing and recognizing questions and answers.

At the same time, the transition will require especially strict standards for information security, the quality of source data, citizen identification and algorithmic transparency. An error or inconsistency in a government registry could affect multiple indicators once statistical processing is automated.

Russia and the World: Statistics Goes Digital

In 2021, Russia conducted its first digital nationwide population census. For the first time, citizens could complete an electronic census form themselves through the Gosuslugi (Public Services portal), while census workers were equipped with tablets. More than 25 million people used the portal to complete the census, while about 9 million more were counted using administrative data on sex and age. The following year, Russian businesses moved entirely to electronic statistical reporting: starting January 1, 2022, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities were required to submit primary statistical data electronically.

In parallel, Rosstat developed the Tsifrovaya analiticheskaya platforma (Digital Analytical Platform), a unified repository for statistical data, common registries of forms and respondents, and technologies for centralized data collection and processing. The Strategiya-2030 (Strategy-2030), approved at the end of 2024, formally established the goal of expanding the use of administrative and big data and introducing AI into statistical processing. Other countries are moving in the same direction. According to the UN Statistics Division, during the 2020s census cycle, several countries, including the Netherlands and Norway, used administrative registers as a source of census data.

Data Consistency as a Condition for Success

Although the Strategy for the Development of State Statistics runs through 2030, traditional surveys are unlikely to disappear entirely by then. Their role, however, could change substantially, with most information collected automatically. For data that is missing from GIS or requires confirmation, personal contact will still be necessary.

The success of this project will depend primarily on how well multiple data sources are integrated. Developers will also need to keep the data current, consistent and secure. If these challenges can be addressed effectively, Rosstat's operations could move to a fundamentally new level.

The main priority of the Strategy for the Development of State Statistics in Russia Through 2030 is to increase user satisfaction with statistics by modernizing its mechanisms and expanding data sources while preserving methodological transparency and continuity. We aim to create a new digital model in which information from administrative sources will become the primary source of data about the population, while online self-completion of questionnaires will become the preferred channel for data collection

Sergey Okladnikov

Deputy Head of Rosstat