SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 has been declared “Census Day” in Guyana.  Census Day is declared every 10 years and is among the most important events this year and in the decade to come. From ancient times, in all the great civilisations, censuses were held.  A census in the ancient world with which most people are acquainted is that ordered by Emperor Augustus just before the beginning of the Christian era.  Everyone had to return to his/her native city to be counted.  When Jesus’ parents returned to Bethlehem, they could find no lodgings and had to stay in a farm animal enclosure where Jesus was born.

The Population and Housing Census 2022 has been described as “a complete count of the population” which was last done 10 years ago.  The Census will provide detailed data on population size, age structure, educational attainment, labour force, housing and other socio-economic characteristics such as economic activities, access to social services, maternal health, food security, agricultural activity and so on.

The Bureau of Statistics further elucidated the raison d’etre of the collection of this census data:  “The census, Guyana’s largest data collection exercise, is more than just a head count as it plays a crucial role in evaluating the above-mentioned changes and data collected during the 2022 census will contribute significantly towards chartering the course of national development over the next 10 years.  The data is extremely valuable to users at all levels including government, the private sector, non-government organisations (NGOs), students, researchers and international agencies”.

Preparation for all censuses is costly, but in the world up to the end of the beginning of the 20th century, they were always regarded with dislike or even hostility by the population since they were used as an instrument of taxation or to make demands on the population in other ways.  Today they are equally costly, but they are now used to provide a greater spread of social services and assistance to the population and so are more acceptable.

The Legislature has voted the sum of $2.billion to cover the cost of the census exercise, which lasts three months.  This will entail the recruitment of over 3,000 enumerators, recruitment of teachers to train them, the establishment of a large number of regional offices, finalising data collection tools such as printing of forms, equipping enumerators with briefcases and other accoutrements, etc.   Just as important, a public awareness and education campaign has to be carried to assure the public that the census data would be of social and economic benefit to themselves and that all personal data collected will never be disclosed to anyone but would be subsumed or aggregated in the general body of data.  Further, householders have to be assured that there is no risk in admitting strange persons (enumerators) to their homes.

This census is probably the most important for the last century since the last census was taken in 2012 before Guyana became an oil-producing country.   As an oil-producing country, Guyana has embarked upon a revolutionary course of transforming itself from an underdeveloped country into one which offers its citizens all the amenities and security that the best of the developed countries could offer.  Accurate 2022 census data would help to quicken this process.

Achieving a successful and accurate census is in the interest of consumers and the public at large, and we endorse the appeal of the Bureau of Statistics:- “All persons in Guyana are being encouraged to fully participate in the 2022 census by providing accurate information and co-operating with the enumerators/census takers, who are scheduled to visit every household and building in Guyana.”