KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is advising the public that only people who are “usual residents” of Jamaica on census day, will be counted in the 15th Population and Housing Census when data collection gets under way.

Usual residents are those people who spend the greater part of the year (six months or more) or on average four nights of the week at the same residence.

“Whether you are a citizen or not, if you are a resident in Jamaica on Census Day, you will be counted,” said Director General, STATIN, Carol Coy, at the recent launch event held at the AC Marriott Kingston Hotel.

Census Day, September 12, will serve as the reference point for the data being collected.

Coy further informed that visitors staying in hotels, guest houses or on ships in harbour, diplomatic personnel and people not normally resident in Jamaica but who maintain summer homes will not be counted.

“For example, we have relatives who have homes in Jamaica, and they’ll come back for about four months for the year, they will not be counted because they are not a usual resident of Jamaica,” Coy explained.

The census is a count of the country’s population and provides social and demographic data, details of the housing stock, and information at the community level and on hard-to-count population.

The main area of counting will be within peoples’ private homes.

“We will also be going to correctional institutions, children’s homes, infirmaries and drop-in centres, boarding and residential schools, university and college residencies, military camps, police training schools and police barracks, hospitals and homes providing specialised long-term care and persons living on the street and in the cays,” Coy said.

Coy encouraged participation in the census, noting that all responses are confidential and that “census data are important for the development of our community, parish and country”.

The 2022 Census is being conducted under the theme ‘Yuh Count, Mi Count, All A Wi Count’.

Over 7,500 field workers have been recruited to conduct the engagement that will see tablet computers being used for the first time in the data collection exercise.

Data collection will begin on September 13 and end in December 2022.