NSO to conduct 2010 Census of Population

MANILA, Philippines - Wondering how huge the population has grown since the last count in 2007? If so, don’t drive the statisticians away when they come knocking at your door.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) will conduct the 2010 Census of Population and Housing from May 17 to June 14, the agency said yesterday

Pursuant to Batas Pambansa Bilang 72, which provided NSO the authority to undertake an integrated census every 10 years, the 2010 CPH aims to count the number of residents of the country and their available housing units.

Census data are used as bases in the formulation of economic development plans and programs. The last census in 2007 tallied the country’s population at 88,566,732 and registered a growth rate of 2.04 percent from 2000.

For the regions, provincial and municipal levels, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the government’s policy-making body on statistical matters, issued a resolution on the creation of Census Coordination Boards to facilitate the 2010 Census.

The NSCB has appealed to the public to provide “utmost cooperation and support for the success of the 2010 Census of Population and Housing.”

NSCB officer-in-charge Lina Castro said the 2010 Census of Population and Housing would be the 13th census of population and the 6th census of housing since the first census was conducted in 1903.

During the survey, the NSO would gather data and information on the size, distribution and composition of the population in terms of age, sex and marital status in the Philippines; birth registration, disability, functional difficulty, literacy, school attendance, place of school, highest educational attainment, residence five years ago, overseas employment, usual occupation, kind of business or industry, class of worker, place of work, fertility, religion, citizenship, ethnicity and functional difficulty; the household characteristics, such as language and dialect generally spoken at home, presence of household conveniences and availability of information and communications technology devices, and internet access.

For the 2010 census, the government had set aside a total budget of P2.16 billion to cover personal services, traveling expenses, supplies, printing expenses and others.

About 58,000 enumerators, 11,500 team supervisors, 3,300 census area supervisors and 2,800 assistant census area supervisors will be involved in the conduct of the 2010 census.