The highly anticipated National Population and Household Census is substantially completed and according to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, the preliminary report is expected to be out before the end of this year.
“They have substantially completed the work… Before the end of the year, I anticipate that the Bureau of Statistics will be in a position to release a preliminary report… They are very advanced in their preparation. I know that for a fact,” Minister Singh recently told this publication.
Work on the census commenced in September 2022 by the Guyana Bureau of Statistics. The field activities and preliminary report were slated to be completed by mid-2023 but significant delays have pushed that deadline over to this year.
According to the finance minister, the Bureau have done a lot of work to date including the field enumeration exercises during which they visit households in every community across the country.
“As you know, of course, Guyana’s terrain is not always the most accessible particularly because we have remote communities etc. We did have also intervening events, for example, they’ve been heavy rainfall and flooding, and so on… They also did several repeat visits. They went back and left flyers at households that were not enumerated and did a lot of follow-up work,” Dr Singh noted.
With the field enumeration exercise completed, the Bureau had to then compile all the data gathered – a very tedious and complex task, according to the Minister. He explained that not only do they have to ensure the accuracy of the data being compiled but also its validity.
“So, they did a lot of that technical work. And of course, they also have to prepare a report – a standard set of census tables and standard reports, which they have been working diligently on. A lot of that work is very substantially advanced… and I am anticipating that we will be able to release a preliminary report before the end of the year,” Dr Singh assured.
There have been calls by stakeholders from civil society as well as political activists for the census data to be released so that there is a better understanding of Guyana’s demographics.
Back in January, Dr Ashni had assured that the census-related activities are planned for completion in 2024, with the Census preliminary report, which gives a brief overview of specific demographic indicators, due later this year.
In fact, the minister recently told this publication that the government, like the rest of Guyana, is looking forward to the release of the census data given the very pertinent details that it will highlight.
“The census is an extremely important source of valuable data for decision-making which documents demographic trends, and demographic shifts. It tells us a lot about the changing age composition of different communities so that we can project where social services are needed, which communities are growing and which are not, you know, geographic and spatial inputs into decision-making. So, we are, in government, looking forward ourselves very eagerly to the completion of the census and I am assured that we will get a preliminary report from the Bureau of Statistics before the end of the year,” he stated.
Following the release of the preliminary report, the final report is estimated to be released in the new year. But according to the finance minister, all the important information will be captured in the preliminary report.
“I think the main headlines would be captured in the preliminary report. So, a lot of the content that people would be looking forward to will be captured in the preliminary report. The full report [will have] the more detailed tables and analysis and so on. So, I think we’ll have the big headlines before the end of the year for sure,” Dr Singh added.
Back in October 2023, Chief Statistician at the Bureau, Errol La Cruz, had said that the entity is striving to ensure accuracy, validity, and quality in the process and its data. He noted that while the initial phase of enumeration was completed, additional enumeration was being conducted.
La Cruz had said the Bureau strives to achieve 100 per cent coverage in the census and is reaching out to several agencies to identify individuals or households that have not been counted.
Even up to May of this year, enumerators were still collecting information from households and individuals who were not enumerated.
The National Population and Housing Census is a process where all persons in Guyana are counted. The Census, Guyana’s largest data collection exercise, provides not only an accurate count of the population but also other critical information on its demographics, including gender, age structure, educational attainment and fertility.
This information is in high demand by a range of persons, including policymakers, the private sector and students.
Part of a wider initiative across the Caribbean, the Census is conducted every 10 years, with Guyana’s last Census being conducted in 2012. Guyana’s population count in 2012 stood at 746,955, a decline from the previous census in 2002 which saw a count of 751,223.
However, with the country currently undergoing an unprecedented economic transformation, it is anticipated that the new census will highlight significant shifts in its population.
