RIYADH — The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) announced on Wednesday that it has extended the self-enumeration process of the Saudi Census 2022 for 6 days more. The GASTAT said that it had extended the period of filling in the data through self-enumeration until the end of Tuesday, May 31, instead of being scheduled to end on Wednesday, May 25. It has noted that its decision came in response to requests received from citizens and residents in the Kingdom to extend the deadline for self-enumeration of the Saudi Census 2022. As for counting people through the visits of the field researchers, the GASTAT confirmed that it would continue until the end of the data collection stage, through visits of field researchers to the housing units of citizens and residents. The GASTAT in cooperation with the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) has introduced earlier a new feature that helps people to verify the identity of the census researcher through his own digital wallet in the Tawakkalna application. The authority indicated that the citizen and resident will have the right to see the identification card of the field researcher, in order to raise the level of transparency and reliability and to enhance the families' reassurance. It is noteworthy that the Director General of Social Statistics at the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) Dr. Fatimah Aloef stated earlier that the ministry's keenness not to cancel the customary method of population enumeration by visiting the field researcher, is due to its full awareness of the diversity of society. There are large segments that still do not use e-applications, and in this way, the field researcher will be able to access, cover and count such segments, she said. The authority praised the awareness of citizens and residents and their response to the census and their willingness to self-enumerate by filling out the form electronically. It previously revealed that more than four million citizens and expatriates have so far participated in the Saudi Census 2022 by choosing self-enumeration, since the start of the actual headcount and data collection on May 10. Several channels have been made available by the GASTAT in order to assist citizens and residents in filling out the census form and answering inquiries, through the e-portal for the Saudi census 2022: survey.saudicensus.sa/en, and through the unified number 920020081, in addition to the GASTAT's accounts on social media. Having an account in Absher for the head of the family is a requirement for entering the self-enumeration website, through which the participant can obtain a rapid response code through the Nafath portal, or by registering in the Saudi Census portal and completing the required data. The GASTAT has also noted that citizens and residents could also fill in their data through self-enumeration stations located in various shopping centers, as it helps individuals and heads of families to fill out the census form with the help of the census employee. It clarified to citizens and residents, through its website, the locations of the self-enumeration stations that can be visited through the following link: https://saudicensus.sa/sites/default/files/kisosk_locations_en.pdf The results of the Saudi Census 2022 will be announced during the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, GASTAT said.
