Stats SA will deploy fieldworkers to collect data for the Pilot Census from 13 to 31 August 2021. Fieldworkers will be visiting sampled households in seven provinces namely: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.  Fieldwork in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Western Cape will resume at a later date. The fieldworkers will visit sampled households to complete the Pilot Census questionnaire as the last leg of the pilot phase, which started with remote data collection via online and telephonic methods during alert level 4 lockdown.

Remote data collection was recently concluded; however respondents may continue to register their households to update the geo-frame as we prepare for the total count of the population.

“Stats SA has the responsibility of ensuring that data is made available to advance planning and decision-making, despite the challenging conditions. Conducting the Pilot Census is one of the crucial steps toward the full population count and there needs to be a balance of carrying out the task while ensuring the safety of fieldworkers and respondents. As such, fieldworkers are being deployed in line with adjusted lockdown level 3 as announced by the President,” said Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke.

The organisation was forced to suspend all face-to-face fieldwork activities when the country went into Alert Level 4 Lockdown on 28 June 2021, but continued with the testing of remote data collection methods, namely Computer Assisted Web Interview and Computer Assisted Telephonic Interview, for the Pilot Census.

Stats SA is aware that criminal elements may try to take advantage of this project to conduct illegal activities. Households are urged to verify that the person at their door is a legitimate Stats SA employee. Stats SA employees wear branded bibs, have Stats SA ID cards, and will have a letter introducing themselves and the survey. Households can use a number of methods to verify fieldworkers. They can check the online fieldworker verification system here, contact the call centre  at 0800 110 248 (toll free) or telephone their nearest provincial or district office.

A census is a total count of the population; it also collects information on the socio-economic aspects such as employment and access to basic services. Participating in the Pilot Census will help with planning for the census. Stats SA urges all households to cooperate with our fieldworkers.

Please see maps of sampled areas below:

Eastern Cape

Northern Cape

Free-State

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

Gauteng

North West