Government begins raising awareness of Census

The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be undertaking its decennial Housing and Population Census this year.{{more}}

This project will be coordinated by the Census Office in the Central Planning Division.

In preparation for the field enumeration phase, which is scheduled to begin the day after Census Day (June 12th 2011), the Census Office has launched a Public Education Campaign. Public relations activities include radio and television advertisement, visits to schools, distribution of posters, bookmarks, newsletters, tokens etc.

The project will run until August 2011.

The Census is deemed an important national undertaking and requires the participation of all persons residing in St Vincent and the Grenadines at the time of enumeration. Therefore, the public education campaign will be extensive.

According to the Census Office, the Census is the process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing and publishing or disseminating demographic and socio-economic data on all persons in the population.

The Census also collects information on the national housing stock and characteristics of these dwellings.

All persons residing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, regardless of race, creed or political affiliation will be counted.

The Constitution of St. Vincent and the Grenadines requires a national Population and Housing Census once every 10 years. The Census data is needed to inform policies aimed at improving the lives of Vincentians.

Enumerators or field interviewers will visit each household and conduct interviews with each household member to obtain the required information.

The Census Office states that the information received will help policy makers determine where to build new schools, health care facilities, homes for senior citizens and more. It will also guide the implementation and evaluation of programmes.

The Census office adds that the information provided by Vincentians will aid the Government, private sector, and other organizations to respond efficiently in times of need.