Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2 (IANS/EFE) Some 190,000 enumerators equipped with handheld computers, digital maps and GPS devices will visit an estimated 58 million houses during this year’s census in Brazil.
The 12th Demographic Census of Brazil, which began Sunday, will update the figures gathered in 2000, and will be the first fully computerized population count in the country’s history.
It will allow Brazil to do away with the traditional census paper forms, giving enumerators the ability to gather census data and transmit it to the computer centres. The preliminary figures will be released Nov 27.
Brazil’s population is estimated at 191 million, up from 169 million counted in 2000.
Enumerators will tag the locations of all residences in Brazil’s 5,565 cities using the GPS, enabling the government to produce a complete digital map of the country’s population.
However, heads of families have the option of filling the census forms on the internet. Enumerators will provide an access code to people who wish to use the Internet.
The 2010 census will cost nearly 1.6 billion reais (about $910 million) and data collection will be completed Oct 31, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said.
–IANS/EFE
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