Embassies urged to assist authorities in census

AMMAN — The government on Thursday urged all embassies in the Kingdom to call on their nationals who reside in Jordan to cooperate with researchers conducting the national population and housing census, to be launched at the end of November and run for ten days.

Department of Statistics (DoS) Director Qasem Zu’bi told The Jordan Times that the data-collecting stage will start on November 31 and conclude on December 10.

He said Jordanians and foreigners residing in the country are requested to “cooperate with us” to have accurate results.

“We want to assure them that the data collected in this census will be treated confidentially, and no other institution will receive personal data related to any individual included in the census,” Zu’bi noted.

In addition to having figures about the Kingdom’s population, the purpose of this national census, he explained, is to gauge services provided to citizens across the country and provide these details to the concerned authorities to improve services accordingly.

Census statistics provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics and underpin funding allocations to provide public services, Zu’bi added.

In addition, he noted that — for the first time — the census will include information about health insurance coverage and the number of persons with disabilities based on the concerned authorities’ request.

The last census, which was conducted in 2004, put the Kingdom’s population at 5.1 million.

Currently, according to estimates, Jordan’s population — counting guests and refugees — exceeds 11 million.

To ensure smooth progress of the census, data will be collected and registered electronically, according to DoS.

“Once a researcher gathers information and saves it on a tablet computer, the data will be saved on the DoS system and be deleted immediately from the researcher’s tablet,” Zu’bi explained.

In addition to including details about Jordanians in the country and any other national who is in the Kingdom during the period in which the census is conducted, data will be collected about Jordanian expatriates, he said.

The official added that the preliminary results will be ready two weeks after finishing data collection, while the final report will be launched in February 2016.