Preparations for the fifth national population census reached the penultimate stage this week with the launch of the exercise to assign code numbers to households countrywide.

According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), the numbers that are put on every house to help enumerators know the number of homes they are supposed to enumerate. This will ensure they do not skip any home or enumerate it more than once.

The listing exercise will go on until August 14.

The institute urges people to leave the numbers where they were put during the whole course of the census.

Speaking to The New Times, Vedaste Ntagwera, the coordinator of the exercise in Kimihurura Sector said that enumerators in his sector first map out the neighbourhoods they have to enumerate before they start listing.

He said that the exercise is another opportunity for them to explain about the actual population census and what citizens will be expected of, adding that they have not faced many challenge so far.

Ntagwera said the only challenge they faced on the first day (Wednesday) was about homes where they did not find anyone especially during the day, which necessitated them to change the strategy and visit some of them at night after people had returned from work.

Sylvestre Nsengimana, a resident in Remera Sector received an enumerator at his home at around 9 a.m on Thursday, August 11.

According to him, the enumerator explained the listing process and what the numbers he was about to put on his door would mean which he said made his purpose clear and important.  

He believes that for a country to have proper planning and a clear picture, it needs to know the number of people it houses, hence the need for population and housing census.

The main census is scheduled from August 15 to 30, according to NISR.

The night of August 15 leading to August 16 is the census night and Rwandans are urged to take note of all events in their homes that particular night and remember to answer the questions accurately during the enumeration exercise.

The census will update the demographic, social, economic and cultural characteristics of the population of Rwanda; the level, structure and trends of fertility, mortality and migration; and indicators for particular groups of the population such as female, children, youth, elders, and disabled persons.

Characteristics of households, housing conditions and household welfare in Rwanda as well as an elaborate non-monetary poverty mapping of the country will also be the end result.

The last census was conducted in 2012 and put the population at 10.5 million.