Director General of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, Statin, Carol Coy, says counting has been completed in 70 per cent of the country’s enumeration districts for the 2022 population and housing census.

Data collection for the census began in September 2022.

The process has been plagued by several challenges, including difficulty engaging census takers to collect the necessary data.

While most of these were addressed, it led to an extension of the process.

Providing an update on the census this morning, the Statin Director General noted that censuses do not always manage to identify every single dwelling within a country and this has been the experience in Jamaica.

She reiterated that Statin is utilizing global best practices to address the challenges.

Mrs. Coy reiterated that resignations and retirement of key personnel and heightened concerns about safety and security, impacted the census process, significantly.

She said these challenges not only contributed to the extended data collection phase, but the abbreviation of the questionnaire to fast track the process.

The director general added that Statin is receiving technical support from international partner agencies to complete the census.