National census postponed again due to safety and cost issues

Published by BBN Staff at February 25, 2021

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Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2021. 10:09 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: Mandated by law every ten years to collect data on the national population of Belize, the National Census that was due in 2020 and postponed to this year has been postponed again, as confirmed by Acting Director-General of the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), Diana Castillo-Trejo, on Wednesday.

“Government looked once more at the situation at the start of this year and it was decided to postpone until May of 2022, and for several reasons. First and foremost, being the safety of our census workers and our staff as well as our respondents,” said Castillo-Trejo, noting that this activity is “face-to-face” and there is a risk of spreading the virus with visitors to homes.

Additionally, noted Castillo-Trejo, the Institute would prefer not to compromise response rates because households may refuse to participate, due again to COVID-19 concerns.

Finally, there is the issue of cost – the Census involves greater cost than what the Institute, a statutory body, is budgeted each year, and the SIB needs time to recruit and train workers and substitutes if persons are infected.

The timeline is to get started by July in terms of public sensitization, Castillo-Trejo said, and then to begin fieldwork by May 12, 2022, with the results to be shared later on.

Belize’s estimated national population is believed to be over 400 thousand and the Institute does regular estimates every six months.

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