Forms for 2010 National Census for Population and Housing are to include questions on marital status and fertility following recommendations from international census specialists. Sources said that the census form contains 59 questions – three down on the 62 of five years ago – including two on marital status and the status of newly-born children, and others on the number of televisions, mobile and landline telephones, computers, and Internet service users in each household, which are said to reveal “patterns and tools of culture and entertainment” and to help in “assessing the impact of information on education and other aspects of life”, while also enabling the creation of welfare indexes. The form also includes questions on housing type, construction materials, house layout, sources of electricity and water, sewer infrastructure, and family rates of mortality and mobility over the past 12 months. Other basic information is sought, such as nationality sex, place and date of birth, and educational qualifications, and profession and main activity of employer for those over the age of 15. The Department of General Statistics and Information starts today (Thursday) its seventh phase of census preparations with an eight-day training course for inspectors in rural areas before they head out to census centers. Activities of the 4th National Census for Population and Housing were officially launched nine days ago by Khaled Al-Gosaibi, the Minister of Economy and Planning, and some 43,000 workers are being deployed across the country ahead of the 15-day main operations scheduled to start on April 28, with a launching ceremony the night before. Mohanna Al-Mohanna, head of the Census Bureau, has assured nationals and foreign residents that privacy will be protected “even if an expatriate's work status is illegal due to the expiry of residence permit”. “All personal information will remain confidential to the Central Department of Statistics and Information and no census information will be published or otherwise made available in a way that would enable an individual or household to be identified,” Al-Mohanna said earlier this month.
