Population and Housing Census 2010

The enumeration takes a very short time compared to the preparatory phase. It also acts as a check on how well the census preparation was done. The enumeration started at 8 AM on November 11, 2010 and lasted 7 days until 12 AM on November 18, 2010.
The information on the importance of active participation in the census as well as every citizen’s responsibility to be covered by the census and population registration in order to support the government actions to give national benefits to each citizen was disseminated. It was very clear from the first day of the census that the public was aware of the importance of participating in the census and actively participated in the census.
On the first day of the census, the Speaker of the State Great Khural made a speech at the opening of the Parliament session, and the enumerations of the families of the President of Mongolia, Speaker of the State Great Khural and the Prime Minister were publicised by the media.
Mr. S. Batbold, Prime Minister of Mongolia and the Chaiman of the State Census Commission made a speech and noted that active participation and the patriotic attitude of every citizen of our country is important for a successful census and he called for every citizen’s active participation in the Population and Housing Census that is conducted once in 10 years. It plays an important role in the country as well as in the world and it is the legal obligation of every citizen for the good of society.
The aimag, the Capital and district levels census commissions had organized census openings in their respective areas and started the census symbolically from the oldest person and advertised it through the media widely. This was the right way to start by following the tradition of respecting the elderly and encouraged the public to actively participate in the census.
During the census dates, the staff of the ad hoc bureaus at all levels were on duty from 8 AM to 10 PM every day and answered all inquiries from the public. Also, they received questions, comments and requests from citizens living abroad through the internet. Queries were answered at the NSO levels every day during 8 AM to 2 AM. The 121 hotline service was implemented during these days at the NSO and provided necessary assistance when needed and closely collaborated with aimag, the Capital and district level ad hoc bureaus. The census commissions and ad hoc bureau staffs visited the primary units at the local administration level and provided assistance when needed.
In terms of the enumerators and supervisors’ performance, enumerators of urban areas reported on their work every day and consulted if there were any issues and difficulties. Enumerators of rural areas had a meeting with their supervisors every 2-3 days and additionally consulted when needed. The team from the NSO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade worked in the USA, Korea, China, Russia, Germany, Turkey, France and several European cities and this enabled the successful coverage of Mongolian citizens living in these places. The number of households and people enumerated on each day were compiled the following day and close monitoring was conducted on this progress. Also, the progress of November 11-13, 2010 was reported on November 14th and the progress of November 14-17 was reported on November 19th to the State Census Commission as well as to the public. Within the first 3 days, 56.7 per cent of total households and 61.5 per cent of households in the Capital were enumerated. Guidance was given to enumerate those in advance who would go abroad for official or private business and be gone during the census days at the bag and khoroo level and the citizens who were going through the border of Zamiin Uud, Dornogobi; Altanbulag, Selenge; Gashuun Suhait, Umnugobi; and Byant-Ukhaa, Ulaanbaatar were enumerated at these points if not enumerated at home. Also, those who travelled between aimags and cities through all modes of transportation were asked to show their enumeration cards at check points and it contributed to the prevention of duplicate enumeration. With the purpose of ensuring the full coverage of individuals in the census and safety of enumerators, some measures were taken such as limiting the hours to sell alcohol in some areas and prohibiting the selling of alcohol in Gobi-Altai, Gobisumber, Bayankhongor, Bulgan, Orkhon, Uvurkhangai, Sukhbaatar, and Khuvsgul aimags. Homeless people who do not have usual residences, or live in entrances, rooftops, staircases, and tunnels and informal miners were enumerated with the support of the General Police Department during the night of November 15, 2010. During the final few days, comments were received from citizens that students were not enumerated at the place where they were and following this concern, the NSO staff in collaboration with respective district ad hoc bureaus visited some student dormitories of the National University of Mongolia, the University of Science and Technology, the Mongolian Educational University, and the University Agriculture on November 17, 2010. Supervisors had a significant contribution to the quality of the census by assisting the enumerators to check the interviews, and providing guidance and re-trainings on the job. The supervisors monitored the enumerators’ works by visiting the households where the enumerators had visited and checked the accuracy of the questionnaire taken.