The Bureau of Statistics today commenced two weeks of intense training for 54 persons from across all regions of Guyana, who will function as Area Coordinators during the 2022 Population and Housing Census slated to start mid-September.
Following their training, these temporary staff under the supervision of Bureau personnel will return to their respective regions to train the Supervisors and Enumerators for the national exercise.
Even as the training of Area Coordinators is underway at the Bureau’s Head office in Georgetown, the screening of applicants from across all regions for the Supervisor and Enumerator positions is ongoing.
Chief Statistician, Errol La Cruez in his address to the Area Coordinators, stressed the important role they will play in ensuring the success of this vast exercise.
He explained that 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, private sector stakeholders, and students.
The Census is conducted every 10 years, with Guyana’s last Census being conducted in 2012. Therefore, he emphasized the need for accurate, unbiased, reliable, timely, quality information which will guide decision making for the development of the country over the next 10 years.
Positing that data is as valuable if not more valuable than gold, the Chief Statistician pointed out that the Census, an incredible undertaking, will see every occupied community in Guyana being visited.
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. According to the Chief Statistician, having an accurate count is essential, since this baseline data will be utilized over the next 10 years. He added that in a world that is becoming more data-conscious, the importance of this data is increasing and its use will expand in the months and years to come.
He encouraged the Area Coordinators to ensure that the Census Personnel under their supervision understand the importance of the Census and the value of the data which it will produce.
