What does it take to count more than one billion people in China?
Six-and-a-half million census-takers going door to door, visiting more than 400 million households nationwide for several days.
The world's most populous nation is conducting its sixth national census after a gap of 10 years (the last one showed a population of 1.29 billion). The counting is done, but the numbers need to be collated and crunched. Results won't be announced until April 2011, but there is already much anticipation.
"The information gathered is vital for China's economic and social policies," Vice Premier Li Keqiang told state-run Xinhua news agency. "Only by getting a clear picture of the population could we better plan and provide people with equal public services in education, health care, housing and pension."
The Chinese word for population combines the pictographic characters for ren (person) and kou (mouth). In this sense, the current census will be counting mouths, not heads, consistent with the traditional Chinese notion that despite the country's economic boom, the main challenge remains how to feed its huge population.
Who will feed China is a recurring issue since the population is aging. The country's population policies of the last three decades -- particularly the one-child policy --- means the majority of China's citizens are now in their prime working years.
By 2050, there will be only 1.6 working-age adults for every person aged 60 and above, creating a heavy dependency ratio.
The census will record a person's age, sex, ethnic origin, occupation, nationality and other data. For the first time, foreigners will be included. The government has allocated a budget of $104 million to the process --- which hasn't been easy.
"Counting people is difficult," said Gu Yanzhou, deputy director of Beijing's city census team. "Counting people on the move is even more difficult."
"Even in terms of buildings, there are changes every day," Gu added. "Buildings are torn down, new ones go up. People move. We must check buildings and maps, so we don't miss counting people."
Source:CNN
Six-and-a-half million census-takers going door to door, visiting more than 400 million households nationwide for several days.
The world's most populous nation is conducting its sixth national census after a gap of 10 years (the last one showed a population of 1.29 billion). The counting is done, but the numbers need to be collated and crunched. Results won't be announced until April 2011, but there is already much anticipation.
"The information gathered is vital for China's economic and social policies," Vice Premier Li Keqiang told state-run Xinhua news agency. "Only by getting a clear picture of the population could we better plan and provide people with equal public services in education, health care, housing and pension."
The Chinese word for population combines the pictographic characters for ren (person) and kou (mouth). In this sense, the current census will be counting mouths, not heads, consistent with the traditional Chinese notion that despite the country's economic boom, the main challenge remains how to feed its huge population.
Who will feed China is a recurring issue since the population is aging. The country's population policies of the last three decades -- particularly the one-child policy --- means the majority of China's citizens are now in their prime working years.
By 2050, there will be only 1.6 working-age adults for every person aged 60 and above, creating a heavy dependency ratio.
The census will record a person's age, sex, ethnic origin, occupation, nationality and other data. For the first time, foreigners will be included. The government has allocated a budget of $104 million to the process --- which hasn't been easy.
"Counting people is difficult," said Gu Yanzhou, deputy director of Beijing's city census team. "Counting people on the move is even more difficult."
"Even in terms of buildings, there are changes every day," Gu added. "Buildings are torn down, new ones go up. People move. We must check buildings and maps, so we don't miss counting people."
Source:CNN
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