The counting process for last year's national census is close to 90 per cent concluded, the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (S.B.S.) says.

The bureau's Survey and Demography Division estimates a total of 89 per cent of Samoa’s population has been tallied based on a comparison to 2020’s national count of 215,000 people. 

The Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Census, Taiaopo Faumuina, said the original census fieldwork plan was for three weeks but additional time was required due to some households not being found and a need for repeat visits. 

She confirmed that all the villages have already been covered however not everyone was available during the fieldwork activity.

“The unavailability of people during the enumeration period is always the issue in any surveys so we have to revisit and leave a census note and request to call us so that they can be enumerated,” she said. 

The S.B.S. Teams started the survey in October 2021 and they were trying to target the 215,000 from the prelisting of the population which showed a total of 215,469 persons with 111,087 males (52 per cent) and 104,382 females (48 per cent).

A total of 330 villages were scheduled to be surveyed within three weeks. A total of 23 teams comprising the team leader and or supervisor and six enumerators per team are running the three-week programme.

With a total of 18 teams who will cover Upolu (including Manono and Apolima), five teams will cover all of Savai'i Island over a three week period.

There are a total of 200 people on the project, which includes 23 drivers who are part of the census. Out of the 200, only 30 are permanent staff of the S.B.S. and the rest are hired workers. A total of 20 drivers are also hired from other Government ministries and corporations.

All the personnel will overnight in the field and be accommodated in hotels and resorts where the teams will be based. Each team will have their own transport and a list of allocated villages to cover within three weeks.

The census is conducted every five years with the last one for Samoa held in 2016.

And the last census which was conducted on 7 November, 2016 recorded a total of 195,843 people comprising 100,825 males (52 per cent) and 95,081 (48 per cent) females.

The growth in population was 8,023 persons when compared to the 2011 census of 187,820 persons with 96,990 (52 per cent) males and 90,836 (48 per cent) females.

In preparation for the 2021 Population and Housing Census, the prelisting of the population was conducted in August to October in 2020 for planning purposes.

That prelisting activity was conducted together with the distribution of the COVID-19 stimulus package of $50.00 per person by the Ministry of Finance.

The prelisting of the population showed a total of 215,469 persons with 111,087 males (52 per cent) and 104,382 females (48 per cent).

This was an increase of the population growth by 9 per cent when compared to the total population in 2016.