Morocco successfully completed the data collection phase of its 2024 General Population and Housing Census (RGPH) on Monday, and has begun the data analysis phase.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Rabat, the High Commissioner for Planning, Ahmed Lahlimi, noted that RGPH has marked a key milestone in the country’s efforts to build a detailed database on the geographic and socio-economic landscape of the country.
“This census is a crucial milestone for Morocco’s long-term development strategy and aligns with the country’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Lahlimi said.
The collected data will serve as a vital resource for Morocco’s statistical planning over the next decade, Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP) reported.
Nearly 55,000 citizens were rigorously selected and trained to effectively conduct the census, and participated in gathering the data going door to door over from September 1 to 30. Many of the volunteers were teachers and students.
Their participation helped reduce the reluctance of many Moroccans to share their information.
Notably, the number of people refusing to participate in the census dropped significantly, from 17,676 at the start of the operation to just 3,443 by the final day.
All the data gathered during the seventh RGPH data collection has now been securely digitized and centrally stored at the HCP’s Data Management Center, data analysis is already underway.
The last census was done in 2014. Census data is used for a number of government social welfare functions, such as allocating funds to public schools and hospitals.