GBoS: 96% of the population is 2.5 million

The Statistics Bureau said in a statement read out by the Director General of Statistics, Nyakassi MB Sanyang, at a press conference held at the GBoS conference hall on Tuesday: “As of Monday, July 1, 2024, data synchronized from the field showed that about 98% of households nationwide have been enumerated, accounting for about 96% of the total population.

He added that so far, 2,528,456 people have been counted.

According to him, Geographic Information System (GIS)/cartography and synchronous data evidence showed that 99% of the country’s buildings have been listed.

He noted that census officials are working with regional census officials to determine if the uncounted buildings are the result of some devices experiencing problems syncing or sending data to the server.

He stressed that considering that census coverage has never reached 100%, it is worth highlighting that the 99% registration coverage across the country is an important milestone.

However, he added that they have not received all the data yet and since they are in the counting phase, GBoS has extended the counting period for the uncounted population by two weeks. He said they will release the final count after receiving all the pending data.

Regarding the payment of the remaining 70% to the census workers, the Sanyang Secretary General assured that the GBoS Project Implementation Unit will pay the remaining 70% to the workers as soon as the district census workers approve it. He said this would be after the data is reviewed and the tablets are returned.

SG Sanyang highlighted the challenges encountered, noting that they have received reports from the field that some devices are experiencing synchronization issues, but added that data monitors, CAPI technicians and IT experts are working with district census officials.

He said this would help officials identify the affected tablets and resolve the issue or retrieve the data manually. He further expressed concern saying they were still facing resistance from certain communities and non-Gambians.

He urged all households that have not yet been covered to call 1242 for the census, while reminding that it is a legal obligation to do the census or answer the census questions.