The Central Statistics Office (CSO) in November 2023 announced the completion of the first phase of the National Population and Housing Census 2022.
The census faced numerous setbacks with its data collection process, census enumerators, and other issues, causing delays to the final deliverables.
Back then, the CSO informed the public that the process would move to process the data and technical report with assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Now, the wait is over.
Earlier this week, the CSO announced the publication of the first comprehensive report from the 2022 Population and Housing Census (PHC).
According to the CSO, the 2022 census marked a historic transition for the body, as it is the first in the region to utilize the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) approach, replacing the traditional Paper Assisted Personal Interview (PAPI) method.
Sean Mathurin, Director of Statistics, said the provisional report marks a milestone in ongoing efforts to understand Saint Lucia’s social, economic, and demographic dynamics.
Meanwhile, the department will continue to analyze the data, hoping to finalise data publication by the end of this year.
Among the key findings of the 2022 National Population and Housing Census is a decrease in average household size from 2.8 individuals in 2010 to 2.6 in 2022.
The age dependency ratio has declined from 48.6 in 2010 to 44.5 in 2022 and while Saint Lucia’s population increased from 166,526 in 2010 to 172,948 in 2022, the growth rate has declined from 5 percent to 3.9 percent.
The Director of Statistics explained that while Saint Lucia’s population is increasing, it is happening slower.
The census report also cites a high prevalence of diabetes and hypertension in the Castries and Gros Islet regions.
“The Statistics Department would like to urge not just the policymakers but the general public to make use of that wealth of information considering the time and resources that went into the production and generation of that information,” Mathurin stated.
Saint Lucia conducts a national Housing and Population Census every ten years, the last of which occurred in 2010.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 delayed the census to 2022.
Individuals can download the preliminary census report from the Central Statistical Office website.
