By the end of the year, the much-anticipated national demographic estimates and common roll update will be available.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) gave this assurance when confirming that 95% of institutional listing has been achieved.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting National Statistician John Igitoi stated that the NSO was committed to finishing the census and updating the popular roll by the end of the year.
“We (NSO) have completed 95 per cent of the structural listing,” he said. “The remaining five per cent are the urban centres, including National Capital District. NCD will be hard because we have settlements and development all over the place.”
He confirmed that structural listing for other cities would begin until the National Pandemic Controller has issued his approval.
Igitoi reported that NSO field officers at the local government and district levels in the provinces have covered 95 per cent of PNG's rural areas.
He stated that there was a recruiting campaign for enumerators in the provinces and that once that was completed, preparation for those field officers for the actual enumeration at the LLG level would begin.
“The recruitment drive will be completed this month (April) and by next month, we will conduct training for master trainers, who will go to the provinces and conduct training-of-trainers,” Igitoi said. “These trainers will go down to their respective LLGs and train field officers, who are going to carry out the actual enumeration.”
Despite COVID-19 interventions and financial constraints, he stated that the NSO would ensure that national population numbers are issued by the end of the year.
