JEDDAH: As officials at Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics continues their preparations for its latest national census, they warned the public to beware of fraudulent impostors impersonating field researchers.

The census is conducted every 10 years to obtain detailed, up-to-date information about the population of the Kingdom, including its demographic, social, employment and economic characteristics. The data that is collected is vital for planners and policymakers, and will contribute to efforts to achieve the aims of Saudi Vision 2030.

GASTAT’s fieldwork for Census 2022 began on Jan. 26 with an address-canvasing phase. The actual survey will begin on May 9.

The authority posted a graphic on its official Twitter account, @stats_saudi, that explained the role of its field enumerators during the census and how to verify their identify and report impostors.

It said the identity-verification procedure includes: “Verifying the official uniform specified for field enumerators, requesting his identification card, and by contacting us at 920020081.”

Field enumerators play a critical role in conducting the census and require full cooperation and transparency from householders once identity has confirmed.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim said previously: “We currently have 14,000 field researchers; by May, we will have 40,000. The project entered its first phase of collecting data, called ‘address canvassing,’ on Jan. 26. This is considered an essential step toward an accurate and effective census.”

Among other things, the census will estimate rates of employment, unemployment and economic dependency, in addition to numerous statistical indicators that reflect the changes taking place in the labor market in the Kingdom.

The data that is collected will contribute to the process of planning and organizing the labor market, as well as the preparation of development programs for human resources.