The Barbados Statistical Service (BSS) has launched its new website bearing several new features, including a page designated to provide updates on the National Population and Housing Census, scheduled to begin August 1, 2021.
This was revealed by Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Marsha Caddle, during the virtual launch of www.stats.gov.bb yesterday.
Noting that Cabinet had established the date as “Census Day”, Minister Caddle emphasised the importance of the official population survey and urged persons to participate.
“A census is conducted every 10 years. We need to understand what is happening with our population, how it is growing…. We need to understand what is happening in terms of housing, etc. This is critical to policy-making…. We cannot plan unless we understand the groups that comprise society,” she stated.
She said members of the public could view the methodologies being used to conduct the survey on BSS’ website, as she disclosed they were working on having an online survey.
“Now, we expect that we’ll be able to produce a shorter questionnaire to be able to do the census because we are collaborating with the National ID project to be able to deliver some of the questions from the census. And we also expect to be able to pilot an online census,” Minister Caddle revealed, as she praised the team at the Barbados Statistical Service for its dedication to this exercise.
The website also has a National Summary Data Page, which, according to the Minister, shows Barbados’ economic profile. She noted that such information was critical not only to the domestic businesses, but potential investors.
“We need a place where people can find information on Barbados, standardised economic and other viables, so we’ve worked with the International Monetary Fund through their General Data Dissemination System to establish a National Summary Data Page. That page pulls out some key indicators, such as gross domestic product, so that people can, at a glance, see the economic profile of Barbados,” she explained.
Ms. Caddle also highlighted the introduction of an “Advance Release Calendar”, which would provide the public with a schedule of the release dates of various types of information via the BSS’ website. This feature is expected to go live on Tuesday, March 30.
Aside from the aforementioned areas, persons may also view the various surveys conducted by the BSS, the methodologies, and learn more about damage assessment.
The website was created by the BSS, with technical assistance provided by Statistics Canada, which provided technical support through its Project for the Regional Advancement of Statistics in the Caribbean.