By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS
MAKKAH: Over 5,900 people, including 50 women, are collecting data in Jeddah for the 4th National Census of Population and Housing, which began in the Kingdom on Tuesday evening.
Khaled Al-Shaalan, supervisor of the census in Jeddah, said counting the Kingdom’s population is the third and last stage of the census.
“In the first stage, the city was divided into districts and sections, and in the second buildings and establishments were counted,” he said.
He added that as part of the third stage data collectors will fill in a 59-point questionnaire and begin with people who do not have accommodation. “From our past experiences and according to international norms, this category of people should not be left out,” he added. Al-Shaalan said data collectors will also visit on Wednesday all of the region’s hospitals, prisons and shelter homes to enumerate the number of people there.
He added that 220 inspectors and 1,100 supervisors will be collating information in Jeddah due to the city’s dense population and high number of buildings.
Once counting is complete, the census will be revised and the data will be entered into computers for finalizing, said A-Shaalan. He added that once the initial data is revised, it will be entered into a scanner to ensure its accuracy.
“This will be the best scanner in the Middle East,” he said.
Commenting on why the census is being held simultaneously with other GCC countries, Al-Shaalan said this is something that was decided by the Gulf Cooperation Council and then approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers. “It is a lot easier to make comparisons when the census is carried out in all member countries at the same time,” he added.
He said women data collectors have been used in national censuses before, but this is the first time so many are being utilized.
“The women data collectors have been assigned to places where there is a huge concentration of women,” he said, adding that they will also be visiting homes in Jeddah on Wednesday. “We need women for hospitals, women shelters and women deportation centers,” he said.
Al-Shaalan also clarified that data collectors are not concerned whether the people they interview are legally or illegally residing in the Kingdom.
“We are not with the Passport Department. We are looking to collect numbers and not concerned if the people we speak to are legal or illegal,” Al-Shaalan added. He added that the questionnaires do not contain questions about people’s residence status, and he called on all to cooperate.
Arab News
