Data collectors from the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI), Department of Economics and Planning, will launch the 4th National Census for Population and Housing Tuesday night by interviewing citizens and expatriates to collect and compile demographic, social and economic information about the Kingdom's population and housing. The census will last until May 12. The Cabinet Monday, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, urged all citizens and residents in the Kingdom to cooperate fully with census officials, stressing that the collection of data is important for the country's development and planning. The Minister of Economy and Planning reported to the Cabinet about census preparations and pointed out that the data collected will help to determine the services that citizens need which will directly affect their standard of living and prosperity . Abdullatif I. Al-Khamees, Head of CDSI Media Center, said that the census operation will start midnight Tuesday with field trips to hospitals, prisons, hotels, and apartment buildings in seaports and airports and other similar places. “One minute past midnight tonight (Tuesday) will mark the start of the national census. The event will be covered live on Saudi television channels and radio as the trained CDSI staff venture out into the field starting with those areas that have night shifts,” Al-Khamees said. On Wednesday morning about 45,000 officials including supervisors, inspectors and enumerators who have undergone extensive training during the past few months will begin field visits to households with a 59-point questionnaire form, he added. CDSI officials, in a press briefing, urged citizens and members of expatriate communities to cooperate with the data collectors assigned to their districts. In a house-to-house campaign, residents will be asked questions including demographic profiles (gender, nationality, family status, age, place of birth), economic condition, education, environment, and household gadgets, such as the number of televisions in the house, phone lines, fixed telephone lines, computers, and the number of computer users. Al-Khamees said that the CDSI is fully prepared to take up this huge task, which will also take census officials to remote areas in the Kingdom. The concerned officials will hold a two-hour meeting prior to the launch of the census operation tonight, he said. “Just before the launch, we will communicate with all our supervisors in each administrative area to assess their preparedness,” he said. Depending on the administrative area, each inspector will have support staff (enumerators) with him to carry out the job of data collection, he explained. In some administrative areas, there may be more than 100 enumerators working under one inspector, he added.
