By Kadijatu Bangura D.S Reporter
WATERLOO โ Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) has warned residents against travelling to their ancestral villages to be counted on Census Night, saying such movement will distort population figures and affect the allocation of public services.
The warning was issued during the Waterloo Civic Day Series on Tuesday, 20th October 2026, ahead of the National Population and Housing Census slated for December 1, 2026.
Addressing participants, Samuel Ansumana, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Stats SL, explained that the census will adopt the de facto counting method, where individuals will be enumerated based on where they physically spend Census Night.
โThe fundamental principle of this enumeration is de facto counting. Wherever an individual spends Census Night โ December 1, 2026 โ is where that person must be enumerated,โ Ansumana stated.
He cautioned that travelling to villages solely for the purpose of being counted could inflate population figures in some areas while causing undercounting in communities where people ordinarily reside.
Ansumana noted that accurate population data is critical for national planning, as it will help government identify communities in need of schools, health facilities, clean water and other essential services.
He added that the December date was arrived at after technical assessments involving international development partners, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the U.S. Census Bureau, to ensure adequate preparation for mapping and system readiness.
According to information shared at the forum, government has invested over $12 million in digital enumeration tablets. The devices will be supported by Starlink satellite internet to enable data collection in remote areas without mobile network coverage.
Stats SL also plans to deploy geofencing technology to restrict enumerators to their assigned enumeration areas, a measure aimed at preventing fabricated or incorrectly located records.
To ensure no one is left out, special questionnaires will be administered to capture homeless persons, market vendors who sleep at their stalls, hospital inpatients and night-shift workers.
The agency disclosed that recruitment of field staff will be done through district-level committees involving paramount chiefs and local councils to ensure enumerators are familiar with local terrain and languages.
A toll-free verification line will also be provided for residents who believe they were missed during the exercise to request a follow-up visit.
While December 1 has been designated Census Night, full enumeration will commence on December 2 across the countryโs 23,000 designated enumeration areas.
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