i. Facilitate the naturalisation of stateless persons.' Stateless Population Data 13. As the Council of the European Union has elaborated, states should collect reliable quantitative and qualitative data on statelessness and adopt and strengthen measures to count stateless persons on their territory.15 The last census that took place in Austria in 2011 recorded 5,289 people as 'stateless' or of 'undetermined' or 'unknown' nationality.16 The Central Register of Residents recorded, as of 1 January 2019, 423 'stateless', 948 'unknown nationality' and 10,870 'undetermined nationality'.17 The data in the Central Register of Residents is disaggregated by age (70% are children under 14), gender (46% are women) and place of residence (70% reside in Vienna). There are several other sources of disaggregated data on naturalisations, births, deaths and residence permits. The Ministry of Interior also reports asylum data under the category 'unknown nationality', and records the nationality of immigration detainees, but it does not publish the latter.18 14. A mapping study on Statelessness in Austria was published by UNHCR in 2017 elaborating, inter alia, on Austria’s lack of a centralised statelessness determination procedure nor any guidance on how to apply the different nationality categories used by the authorities, which are currently applied inconsistently.19 For instance, whether individuals in a particular situation are classified as 'stateless', 'unknown nationality' or 'undetermined nationality' in the Central Register of Residents may vary among municipalities.20 The Ministry of Interior records the nationality of immigration detainees but it does not publish statistics on persons held in immigration detention. 15. The above numbers do not provide an accurate statistical overview of Austria's stateless population. As Austria does not have a dedicated statelessness determination procedure, official statistics tend to only cover those legally resident in Austria and persons who apply for international protection, whereas stateless persons living with irregular residence status in Austria are mainly invisible in the data.21 National Law 16. There is a non-automatic provision in the Austrian Nationality Act that permits children born stateless in Austria to acquire Austrian nationality by application if they have been stateless from birth; lived lawfully in Austria for at least ten years (five years of continuous residence preceding the application); are between 18 and 20 years of age; and have not been convicted by a domestic court for certain offences or by a domestic or a foreign court to more than five years in prison. 22 Additionally, all children born in Austria, regardless of their residence status, may qualify for 15 Conclusions of the Council of the European Union and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on Statelessness, 4 December 2015, http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/12/04/council-adopts-conclusions-on-statelessness/ 16 Statistik Austria, Volkszählungen 1951 bis 2001, Registerzählung 2011, Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geschlecht 1951 bis 2011 17 Statistik Austria, Statistik des Bevölkerungsstandes, a) Bevölkerung am 1.1.2019 nach detaillierter Staatsangehörigkeit und Geschlecht bzw. Altersgruppen b) Bevölkerung am 1.1.2019 nach detaillierter Staatsangehörigkeit und Bundesland 18 See: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/austria. 19 See generally: UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, chapter 3. 20 UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, para 80. 21 UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, paras 3, 12, 17, 18, 80, 298 and chapter 3. 22 Articles 8 and 14 Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz 1985, BGBl No. 311/1985 as amended by BGBl I No. 61/2018 (DE), Unofficial English translation (amended version as of BGBl I No. 56/2018) 4