[LINK] "Brazil Aims for World's "Most Perfect" Population Census"

[rfmcdonald]

Inter Press Service's Thalif Deen writes about how Brazil is doing its best to produce a 2010 census that's as accurate as possible, using the latest technologies and organizational methods. It's a pity that they're heading down the route of Canada's feared census totalitarianism, but I suppose that Brazil's thoroughness is to be respected.

Brazil, the world's fifth largest country and the biggest in South America, has stolen a march over most others by conducting its first-ever paperless, all-digital fully-computerised nationwide census.

The Brazilians say their 2010 Census, which began Aug. 1, will be "the most accurate, comprehensive and technologically sophisticated undertaking - since the country's first count in 1872 - and arguably in world history."

At least four other countries, Oman, Cape Verde, Uruguay and Colombia, have gone all-digital, according to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

But in magnitude and geographical reach, the Brazilian census is expected to be demographically formidable - judging by the country's current population of 194.3 million spread across a territory of some 8.5 million kms.

The statistics are staggering: 58 million households and 5,565 municipalities to be surveyed; 240,000 persons earmarked for census-taking and logistical support; 225,000 hand-held personal digital assistants (PDAs) and notebooks equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers; and about 8,400 laptop computers.

The census takers will transmit the data via the PDA device to over 7,000 regional data collection centres across the country.

Continuing its passion for the digital, Brazil also provides the option of filling out the census questionnaire via the internet.

But this is valid only after a visit by the census-taker who will personally provide a sealed envelope with a code giving access to the questionnaire on a secure website. The total cost of the four-month-long census is estimated at over 900 million dollars and the preliminary figures are expected to be released Nov. 27. The initial preparations began in 2007 with pilot test runs in 2009. The final results will be released in 2011.

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