7 July 2015
A Population and Housing Census will be conducted on St Helena in early 2016 to capture the pre-air access characteristics of the St Helena population.
The date set for the Census is Sunday 7 February 2016 with piloting planned to take place in November 2015.
In order to design the most appropriate survey questionnaire, a project team, led by the SHG Statistics Office, has been established to ensure full coverage of the St Helena population, obtain robust results and ensure the data is accessible and secure.
The last Census was conducted in 2008, just over seven years ago. Next year’s survey will identify population and housing trends since then.
Statistician Paula McLeod explains:
“It is important to conduct a population Census so that we have an accurate picture of St Helena and her people before the onset of air travel, which stands to be one of the biggest step changes in the history of the Island. The Census will be the benchmark from which we monitor the development and welfare of the local community. The data we collect will also be the baseline that we build upon to continue to produce accurate and reliable updates on many vital information streams for St Helena and her people.
“This data will be used for planning and decision making for years to come and so it is essential that it is of the highest possible quality. The analysis and information we produce can only be as good as the data we collect. To make sure we represent the needs and interests of everyone on St Helena, we need to count everyone in the Census.”
Before the population count can take place there needs to be an update of the housing sector on the Island. To complete this exercise the Statistics Office is working closely with the GIS Section and Connect Saint Helena Ltd to generate an updated list of all the homes on the Island, along with accurate locations and other general information of shared interest.
The Census information will be kept strictly confidential.
The Statistics Office also encourages the public, community groups and the private sector to come forward and contribute ideas on how the survey could be conducted and designed in order to make the 2016 Census as effective as possible – and ensuring that the questions asked tackle as many topics of interest as possible.
The Statistics team can be contacted at the Castle, on telephone 22138 or email: statistics@sainthelena.gov.sh. The team looks forward to hearing from you.
Updates on the 2016 Census will be published regularly.
SHG
7 July 2015