Peru, where half the population lives on $1.25 a day or less, will conduct its first census in a decade to help direct cash to fight poverty, Economy Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Thursday. "The census is very important for the distribution of state resources," Kuczynski told RPP radio. The 10-question survey will be conducted nationwide in June. Peru's last census was in 1993. Kuczynski said Peru would conduct a second census during the year to find out how many state employees there are and to rid the public payroll of phantom workers. "There are 1.3 million (public) employees in Peru, of which 60,000 are retired. We have detected 7,000 phantom workers, who are people who have died, but a large number of these are still getting paid," Kuczynski said.
