2.2.2.1 GROUPS COVERED BY ADMINISTRATIVE DATA There are three different datasets used to describe the total number of stateless persons in Lithuania: the Population and Housing Census, the Statistics Department of Lithuania and the Migration Department. According to the latest Population and Housing Census, carried out from 1 March to 9 May 2011, there were 2,400 stateless persons living in Lithuania58 – a sharp drop from the 10,500 stateless persons registered in the 2001 Census.59 This number encompasses the stateless “resident population”, i.e. “persons permanently residing in Lithuania and residents of the Republic of Lithuania residing abroad for a period [shorter] than one year.”60 “Permanent place of residence” is defined as “the [lawful] or declared place of residence where an individual usually stays every day while having a rest, excluding temporary leaves on holiday, to visit friends, relatives, on business, for health or religious purposes.”61 The Census also found that 99.8% of Lithuanian residents indicated they have at least one nationality.62 Both the 2001 and 2011 Censuses asked respondents to identify their country of birth, their citizenship (pilietybė) (“stateless” was included as a separate category), and national identity (tautybė).63 The Census invited residents to fill out an electronic questionnaire and then visited households of those persons who had not filled them out.64 This could have excluded numerous stateless persons, particularly those who live on the margins of society, such as homeless persons and those with “unresolved” legal status. Furthermore, self-identification of nationality or statelessness may be problematic. For example, some persons may identify themselves as stateless when they are not, other persons may consider that they hold a nationality when they do not, yet other persons may consider that their nationality is effective when it is not, or vice versa.65 Apart from the Census data, every year the Statistics Department of Lithuania publishes population statistics disaggregated by citizenship. According to this data, there were reportedly 3,500 stateless persons living in Lithuania in 2011.66 The Statistics Department uses the national Census as a basis for its estimations, and adjusts it each year to the changes in the population (registered births, deaths and net migration) using the data of the national Residents’ Register. Having adjusted its previous estimates to the results of the 2011 Census, the official data provided by the Statistics Department indicates there were 2,300 stateless persons living in Lithuania in 2012, and the number dropped to 2,000 in 2013.67 The Residents’ Register is the main State register68 which collects, processes, and stores personal data, including citizenship status (as of 1 January 2013 this also includes data related to citizenship acquisition and loss)69 of citizens, stateless persons (but only those with lawful residence), and foreign nationals who 22 58 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2012, Vilnius, 2012, p. 70. 59 Ibid, p. 70. 60 Ibid, p. 66. 61 Ibid, p. 39. 62 Ibid, p. 66. The Statistical Yearbook uses the word “citizenships”: “Based on the 2011 Census data, people of 108 citizenships were living in Lithuania. Lithuanian nationals made up 99.3 per cent of the total population. Most of the residents (99.8 per cent) indicated that they had one”. 63 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Questionnaire of the 2011 Census, 2010, p. 5-6; Lithuania, Statistics Department, Questionnaire of the 2001 Census, 2000, p. 1. 64 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2012, Vilnius, 2012, p. 65. 65 UNHCR, Measuring Statelessness through Population Census: Note by the Secretariat of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ECE/CES/AC.6/2008/SP/5, May 2008, p. 4. 66 Lithuania, Statistics Department, Statistical Yearbook of Lithuania 2011, Vilnius, 2011, p. 44. 67 The Official Statistics portal of the Statistics Department: http://osp.stat.gov.lt (visited 8 August 2013). 68 Republic of Lithuania Law on Residents’ Register, 23 January 1992, No I-2237, Vilnius (Last amended on 03 December 2015 – No XII-2116), Article 4 (1). 69 Ibid, Article 9(6). M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N L I T H UA N I A