Today is Census Day in SVG

The 2012 national population and housing Census – a count of the entire population, will commence today, June 12, the Census Office has announced.{{more}}

Several activities will highlight the start, including media briefings by government officials and a representative from CARICOM. The Census Office, accompanied by local artistes, will make a series of promotional whistle stops in a number of communities. Census staff will also engage the public at various locations in Kingstown.

Enumerators will take to the field from tomorrow, June 13, to begin collecting data on all persons living in the country and their living quarters. The compiled data will allow for informed decision making by agencies and individuals who require accurate national data, including the public and private sector, researchers and the media.

Speaking ahead of the launch Census Officer Gatlin Roberts said:

“A Census is a very important national exercise and I am encouraging everyone to cooperate and be counted. The Census will help to measure how our population has changed since the last count in 2001. Remember the data we collect can bring direct benefit to you and your community because they provide information about the population down to the smallest level across a range of different criteria e.g. age, education, employment, health, etc. This information can be used to tell at a community and national level about the composition of the population and to identify the needs and requirements of each group in planning for the provision of services. It will assist researchers and the business community to better plan future investments.

“You will recall that we did a similar exercise a year ago and that data was lost to fire. I implore you not to use fatigue as an excuse, but to welcome our enumerators and provide the required information. The enumerators can be identified by their special Census Identification (ID) card, and census bags,” Roberts added.

The public is reminded that enumerators, supervisors and Census staff have been sworn to secrecy and therefore all information collected will be treated with the strictest confidence.