GOVERNMENT now intends for the next national census to be executed in the second half of 2012, with the exact date to be decided based on the advice of the Bureau of Statistics. Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh spoke of this development in his 2012 National Budget presentation on Friday.
He said, “Government has long recognised the critical importance of every country executing a census of its population and housing facilities every 10 years, as is the global standard.”
A census is the practice of methodically acquiring and recording information about the members of a population. It provides a government and its arms the opportunity to plan for key services for years to come.
Dr Singh said that in keeping with this cycle, censuses were conducted in 2002 and previously in 1991.
The census is also part of Guyana keeping with the Regional approach to census-taking coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat.
“The census exercise is critically important to human and economic development of the country and evidence-based policy-making and ensuring the security of its citizenry,” Dr Singh said.
The last census, conducted in September 2002, showed a population of 751, 223 people.