After the end of the 2024 Population and Housing Census, a Post-Census Survey will also be carried out in a series of localities. This includes a subset of questions from the questionnaires used in the census. Through this exercise, the degree of coverage of the population with habitual residence and also the accuracy of some data collected at the census will be determined.

Contacted by IPN for details, Lilian Galer, head of the General Statistical Methods Division of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the 2024 Population and Housing Census is due to end on July 7 and the Post-Census Survey is planned for July 15-August 4. The localities are not disclosed so as to ensure independence between the two exercises. It goes to a representative sample proportional to the number of census tracts. A census tract comprises around 200 dwellings.

“It will be exactly like the basic census. The enumerator will go from house to house on the selected sector. Therefore, in the given area, the census taker is obliged to identify all the dwellings and to interview the residents repeatedly. But the questionnaire will be shorter than the basic questionnaire. There are only those variables that allow us to identify exactly the person in the Post-Census Survey with the Basic Census and also allows us to deduce the person’s resident status,” explained Lilian Galer.

The official noted that the main purpose of the Post-Census Survey is to establish the census coverage degree. As for the checking of the quality of the collected information, only a few variables are used. “We compare the data of each person involved in the Post-Census Survey with data from the census. If in the Post-Census Survey there are people who were not counted at the census, the degree of under-coverage is calculated based on them. It is also determined, according to particular indicators, to what extent the answers correspond and how much we can rely on the data collected during the census,” said the head of the General Statistical Methods Division.

The 2024 Population and Housing Census is conducted between April 8 and July 7.