Pretoria - In just a few hours' time millions of people within the South African border will be counted in the country's third census since democracy.
Babies, the homeless, foreigners and natural citizens are to be counted as the 2011 National Census gets underway at midnight.
About 156 000 Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) enumerators, dressed in yellow bibs, will venture out to hospitals, gated households, townships , police stations and the like to count the population.
The census will run from 10 to 31 October 2011.
"We will ask you about your access to services such as water, electricity and sanitation. Out of this arsenal of information we will know whether South Africa is making progress or not. We will also know what needs to be done," said Statistician General Pali Lehohla.
A census is a head-count carried out so government knows where the country's population resides, their access to services. Information collected through the census will help government plan for the future, as well as to see how far the country has come and what still needs to be done.
People being enumerated will be expected to answer all 75 questions in the questionnaire which is expected to take 45 minutes to complete. The questionnaire will be available in the country's official 11 languages and additionally in French and Portuguese.
The census will consist of three questionnaires namely one for households, the other for institutions and the third for people in transit.
Whilst it's obligatory for citizens to participate in the census according to the Statistics Act, Lehohla urged police to ensure public confidence and peace of mind for households during the course of the 21 day census.
"I would like to appeal to the police to monitor Census 2011 cars and to secure public confidence in census around issues of security," said Lehohla.
As part of additional security measures fieldworkers will have to carry an identity card hologram-protected photograph depicting the enumerator.
To check on the validity of enumerators, people will be able to contact Stats SA's toll-free number on 0800 110 248.
Lehohla warned that those who restrict statisticians from doing their work will face a six-month jail term or a R10 000 fine or both.
The results of the census, which will cost the country R3 billion to execute, are expected in November 2012.
