SA’s 10-yearly census kicks off — here’s how to get counted

Stats SA's latest census has officially kicked off, after it was postponed in October last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The census is the fourth population count in post-apartheid SA.

“Census remains the only survey that provides data at the local level and is used by all sectors of society for planning and evidence-based decision-making. Local government relies on census data for their IDP planning (integrated development planning) and for municipal demarcation,” said the agency. 

Stats SA says it has deployed 165,000 enumerators countrywide who will facilitate the population count.

The agency also counted citizens who flew out of the country before Wednesday night. 

Field workers will collect data from hotels, residential homes, count the homeless, people in hospitals, transients and collective living quarters. 

How can you get counted?

Stats SA field workers will visit homes and count occupants, including visitors during the face to face data collection.

The advent of the pandemic means the agency will, for the first time ever, also give respondents the option to register and complete the questionnaire online. 

The online registration requires personal and contact details, residential address, and confirmation of whether the respondent is registered under a different household.

Identifying field workers

Fieldworkers can be identified with branded Stats SA clothing and census-branded ID cards printed with the Stats SA logo. Alternatively, respondents can verify the identity of field workers online by searching their name, surname and verification number.

Once this information is received, the fieldworker's name, surname, photo and assigned districts will appear on the screen.  

The census in numbers 

• 165,000 field workers are employed for the census
• 4,800 vehicles are used
• The census will occur over an estimated 34.3-million hours 
• 165,000 smart devices will be used