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Census Population

1.1. What is a Population and Housing Census

The United Nations defines a population census as ‘the total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analysing and publishing or otherwise disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specified time, to all persons in a country or in a well-delineated part of a country’. The population census is a complete enumeration of all persons in a country at a specified point in time. The country requires up-to-date, reliable and relevant information for evidence-based decision-making. To a large extent, the population census fulfils this role and is the primary source of benchmark statistics on the population’s size, distribution, composition, and other social and economic characteristics. Among others, the census provides key information to monitor progress in realizing the country’s sustainable development goals. The census also delivers benchmark information at all administrative levels down to the lowest administrative unit (Suco).

The opportunities offered by digitisation allow several innovations in the 2022 census, including the following:

  • This helps orientation within the area of data collection, finding the dwellings that need to be enumerated, improving the census coverage and monitoring the enumeration progress.
  • The management of the digital questionnaire on the census tablet. Compared to the use of paper questionnaires, the digital questionnaire application permits faster data collection, reduces enumeration mistakes, and allows monitoring of the quality of work and almost real-time compilation of the data from the completed questionnaires.

As an independent nation, Timor-Leste conducted its first Population and Housing Census in 2004, followed by a second census in 2010 and a third in 2015. Against this background, the Government, through the General Directorate of Statistics (GDS), is conducting its fourth census in September and October 2022. You will play a crucial role in the census operation as an enumerator. You will collect the information about all dwellings, individuals and households assigned to you. The success of the census will depend on how you perform the tasks given to you.

1.2. Goals and objectives of the 2022 Population and Housing Census

The 2022 census has a multitude of goals and objectives. Generally, the census is held to provide up to date information essential for sound development planning, making administrative and policy decisions, and doing research. It is, therefore, essential that the data collected in the census is complete, accurate and timely. Specifically, the census aims to provide information on, among others: 6

1. The size, composition and spatial distribution of the population;

2. The educational attainment level of the population;

3. The size and characteristics of the labour force;

4. The prevalence of disability by type;

5. Levels of fertility, mortality and migration;

6. The rate and patterns of urbanization;

7. Housing conditions and availability of amenities and assets;

8. The participation of the population in agricultural production.

  1. The Ministry of Education will be enabled to better decide where new schools have to be built or areas where more teachers are needed.
  2. The Ministry of Public Works will be able to foretell where and how many roads are needed based on the concentration of people living in an area.
  3. The Ministry of Health will have information on where to construct health facilities (clinics, dispensaries, hospitals) and how to provide health services where the need is greatest.
  4. The working skills of the population can be measured against the needs of the nation.
  5. Specialized programmes can be designed to enable persons with disabilities to be provided with relevant services (training, financial, assistive devices, etc.) and be better integrated into our society.
  6. To provide better housing facilities. The data collected in the census will give information for evidence-based planning for the availability of amenities such as electricity connections, drinking water supply, sanitation, a sewage system, etc.
  7. The basis for population projections to look into the future size and composition of the population of Timor-Leste.

The information collected from the census will be utilized in various ways and by many organizations within and outside the government. Some examples of how the census can be used include:

Besides these aspects, the census will also be used as a general sample frame to select households and individuals for household surveys in the future.

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