Samoa Population and Housing Census 2011

Censuses provide population numbers, household or family size and composition, and information on sex and age distribution. They often include other demographic, economic and health-related topics as well. The 2011 Samoa Population and Housing Census was conducted via questionaires that added the topics of traditional Samoan skills, and the ownsership of home appliances and assets. Questionaire design was based on users consultation seminars in order to determine users' data needs. It was the first country census to use scanners for data processing, and to use GPS technology to digitize listed households and map out enumeration areas. Pilot-testing preceded the fieldwork in order to confirm questionaire practicality and design layout of the enumeration fields. Census fieldwork consisted of enumeration teams each assigned a number of districts and villages, in both the urban and rural areas, to cover in a certain time period. The total enumerated population for Samoa was 187,820 on November 07, 2011.