CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING 2001
The Census of Population and Housing, which was conducted on
The main items of information collected in this census were: Relationship to Head
of the Household, Sex, Date of Birth, Marital Status, Citizenship, Religion,
Ethnic Group, Physical and Mental Disability, Attendance at School / other
educational, vocational, technical institutions, Literacy, Activities in the
last 12 months, Principal Occupation…
In addition to the above detailed information on disabled persons were also
collected. Very useful Housing and Household information were also collected in
this Census: Occupancy Status, Number of Households, Number of Persons
usually living in the Unit, Principal Material used for construction, Year of
Construction, Availability of Toilet….
Any of the above information could be made available at Grama Niladari Division
(GND) level. Therefore the implempentation of a Geographical Information System
(GIS) at GND level for any District or Divisional Secretary Division (DSD) or
any Local Government institution is extremely useful to planners, policy makers
or to those who are involved in improving various facilities or services to the
people living in any particular area. It also helps to compare between
different scales and areas of interest.
The mutual benefits of this geographically based
information management – eliminating redundant work, capitalizing on economies
of scale, and improving operational efficiency – could only be fully realized
through coordination between Colombo Municipal Council and the Department of
Census and Statistics. This partnership must continue to be developed and
strengthened.
A.G.W. NANNAYAKKARA
Director General
Department of Census & Statistics