Counting heads

Sri Lanka to commence countrywide population and housing census costing Rs.700 million

By Uditha Jayasinghe

CABINET approval has been given for a countrywide census that will be the first conducted in over three decades at a cost of Rs.700 million. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the first Cabinet news briefing for 2011 yesterday that the long awaited census will be outsourced to a company and the call for tenders will begin shortly. However he was unclear as to when the census would commence.

“The census of population and housing will cover the entire 25 districts for the first time in over three decades. Even the last census in 1981 did not cover the north and east and this will be the first one to do so in recent history. This is the 14th population and housing census to be conducted in Sri Lanka,” he said adding that the Cabinet has decided to obtain specialised resources needed for the purpose using a competitive bidding process.

The entire project is expected to cost Rs.700 million and will last the better part of the year.