Census extended by three days

The local population census, supposed to be completed last night, has been extended by three days.

Census Media Coordinator Shiuneema Baseer told Sun Online that the extension follows failure to cover several houses in Male’ within the given period.

“We have not been able to visit all apartments, located on different floors, as a lot of them are locked. So we sent out a message, requesting those who have not participated in the census to contact us. More people have responded to this message than we expected,” she said.

Shiuneema said that additional teams were employed to complete the efforts by last night, but it was not possible.

She added that the census has been completed in the atolls.

Out of the total of 3,500 officials involved in the census, 2,000 worked in the atolls and 1,500 in Male’.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury has said that the information will be announced six months later.

The census is normally conducted every five years; however, this year’s census comes after an eight-year break. The last one was conducted in 2006.