With a specially commissioned song and dance performance, Timor-Leste's Ministry of Planning and Finance launched its 2004 census in Dili. It is the first full count of Timor-Leste's residents undertaken in the new country, and the first collection of data since an Indonesian census in 1990. Local residents crowding the perimeter outnumbered invited guests at the ceremony, listening to the speeches and enjoying the music and dancing.

At the ceremony, Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmao encouraged all of the country's residents to take part. "I would like to ask you to participate in this census. All Timorese should take time out of their daily activities to take part in the count." He singled out students as vital participants in the process, asking them to tell their families when and how to provide census information.

Timor-Leste's first-ever national census will start on July 11, 2004. The National Statistics Directorate is recruiting some 3,500 managers, district supervisors, and enumerators to visit the country's estimated 180,000 households. Using a detailed census questionnaire, enumerators will spend two weeks collecting information on health, education, socio-economic status, and housing. The demographic data collected will include age, sex, family size, and ethnic group.

Enumerators will use global positioning system (GPS) technology to link specific census data to detailed maps of Timor-Leste, the first time such technology has been used in this role in Timor-Leste. The result will be a detailed picture of the country's residents, from where they live to how quickly their families are growing.

USAID supports the Ministry of Planning and Finance in its preparations for the 2004 census with grants totaling $231,000. The support provides an expert advisor, vehicles, equipment, and the printing of the census questionnaires and training materials in Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian, and English. Data from the census will help the government better understand the economic, demographic, and social conditions of the country's residents and inform policy-making decisions at every level of government.

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