DAKAR, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Senegal will conduct the fifth General Population and Habitat Census nationwide in the second half of 2023, according to a decree signed by Senegalese President Macky Sall.

The objective of the census is to make available the recent and comprehensive statistical data for better planning of economic, social and environmental development, as well as regular monitoring and evaluation of development policies and programmes, said the decree made public Monday.

All natural persons and inhabitants on Senegalese territory will be counted during the 2023 census, it said.

The last census was conducted in 2013. According to the demographic projections of the National Agency for Statistics and Demography, the population of Senegal in the year 2020 is 16,705,608, an increase of about 3 percent from the previous year.