St. Lucia is to conduct a population and housing census in May that the government says will assist in determining the strategic policies and programmes for the next decade.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said that the aim of the census is to have a very comprehensive assessment of the country and “to allow for the accurate delivery of initiatives to remedy some of the ills in the society, such as poverty, inequality, substandard healthcare and the lack of adequate housing”.

The census will be held on May 12, when an estimated 550 enumerators will commence work Island wide and Chastanet said that he was urging all St. Lucians to cooperate with the enumerators as they carry out their duties.

He said the enumerators are currently undergoing a significant amount of training, in order to adequately prepare them to carry out this mammoth exercise and to allow for the most accurate collection of data. “The information which you will be providing is protected by law and you have the highest assurance that any information which you provide, will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. Please provide information which is as accurate as possible.”

The last census was carried out in 2010.