Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

The IBGE has been conducting the 2022 Population Census in a transparent way, adopting several control mechanisms, and strictly following all the necessary steps to guarantee quality in all phases of the operation. A total of 89 million housing units and 184 million persons have been enumerated up to January 24, 2023.

We highlight that the two postponements of the Census, in 2020 and in 2021, made it possible for the IBGE to improve some operation processes. One of them was the administration of national tests, an unprecedented activity in the institution and always referred to by the IBGE field teams as an example of a good practice. The national tests covered at least one locality in each state of Brazil. About 40 thousand housing units were visited, with 111 thousand persons being enumerated at the time. That was a great opportunity to test all the steps of the Census operation, and to train the participating staff, as well as to make improvements in the data collection and control processes.

The quality of a Census coverage is monitored during the operation, by means of indicators of a supervision system and of modern geo-technology tools, previously unseen in a Census, besides a return to the field for onsite verification. The 2022 Census also has the Post-Enumeration Survey (PPE), which uses a sample of enumeration areas, with the main objective of providing resources for the evaluation of data collection coverage and quality. The PPE starts after the selected enumeration areas have been enumerated and supervised by the Population Census. The release of the PPE is listed in the 2022 Census dissemination plan.

Prolonging of data collection

The period of operation has been extended mainly due to the lack of professionals, especially for data collection. In some municipalities such scarcity was a consequence of the higher employment offer in a given area. The IBGE made repeated efforts in order to mitigate the lack of enumerators: it requested provisional measures intended to make recruitment rules more flexible and allow the Institute to hire retired civil servants; increased the salary of enumerators; implemented a transportation allowance for teams; and signed agreements with municipal health secretariats and universities.

The IBGE is engaged in reducing the effects of the delayed Census operation aiming at the quality of results. It is worthy of mention that approximately 65% of the data collection for the 2022 Census had been finished in October. We also highlight that it is a survey done by electronic means, and that it reduces the chances of errors during the collection of information, because the dates of reference are part of the questions inserted in the Mobile Data Collection Device. Moreover, there are coverage questions to check information, besides a supervision step, as mentioned above. The supervision system is comprehensive and effective.

Advertising campaign

In spite of its limited reach, paid publicity was included. Furthermore, the IBGE, for the first time, made use of the press to implement a Customized Communication Plan for the 2022 Population Census, with the objective of advertising it on the media almost daily, and providing information about all the programmed steps of the survey: Selection Processes; Tests on the Island of Paquetá, National tests, Survey of Surroundings; Census Launch at Museu do Amanhã (Tomorrow Museum); Start of Data Collection; Data Collection Monitoring in quilombola and indigenous territories; Visits of international Observers from 18 countries; Monthly Data Collection Previews; and Release of Preliminary Results. According to the media monitoring service hired by the IBGE, the Census has been mentioned in at least 9 thousand reports, at national and regional level , since the start of the survey. All the facts leading to criticism published by the media have been dealt with and discussed in press conferences and interviews promoted by the IBGE itself, as proof of our full commitment to institutional transparency. 

Among the countless challenges of the 2022 Census, it is worth mentioning some structural changes in society that have a direct impact on the census operation, such as: increased number of housing units with only one resident, changes in the labor market and issues related to security. These factors have made more difficult the access to residents by the enumerators. The Census is not the only operation jeopardized by the lack of access to a part of the population, as this phenomenon has been observed in sampling household surveys in a similar way.

Budget

In 2022, budget allocation amounted to R$2,292,957,087, with about R$ 1,76 billion executed and approximately R$484 million in outstanding liabilities. The allocated budget for 2023 is R$233,873,573.

We inform that, differently from previous Census editions, the Mobile Data Collection Devices and tablets have been purchased in partnership with the Ministry of Health, to which they will be returned after the Census. The costs of the equipment have not been covered by the IBGE.

Healthcare agents as enumerators

Another unprecedented measure during the Census was the cooperation of public healthcare agents. They are fully capable of working in the operation because, besides being trained and tested, they know the enumeration areas very well, as they cover that territory in their daily work. In addition to that, they are highly experienced in approaching the residents, which is an essential feature in data collection. During the training process we detected these agents could deal with the National Address List for Statistical Purposes (CNEFE). Many of those agents are now working in subnormal clusters, hard-to-reach areas that they know very well. Also important is the fact that these professionals have been recruited as enumerators, and this process followed all the regular hiring and training steps.

Data imputation

There was no imputation of the questionnaire, but imputation of persons in the housing units, a measure similar to the one adopted by the IBGE for the release of preliminary Census results. Additional details can be found in the methodological note released together with the Municipal Population Preview based on the 2022 Census data collected up to Dec 25, 2022.

Submission of data to the TCU

In 2022, as in 2010, the result submitted to the Brazilian Court of Audit (TCU) was a preliminary population count. In the 2010 Census, the release of results followed the sequence below, as listed on page 673 of the 2010 Population Census Methodology :

- Nov 4, 2010: Resident Population – Results published on the Official Gazette on 11/7/10 (population submitted to the TCU) – 185,712,713

- Nov 29, 2010: Resident Population – First Results of the 2010 Census – 190,732,694 residents.

- Apr 29, 2011: 2010 Census Synopsis – Final Population results of the 2010 Census – 190,755,799 residents.

Training of enumerators

The training of enumerators is an important step, and the IBGE has made innovations in this process by means of a combination of onsite training sessions and online tools (videos, distance-learning, seminars, etc.).

The training model was conceived according to strategies that ensure knowledge sharing as well as the practical use of the data collection equipment.

Field work

The field operation is complex and demands proper coordination, and mainly, continuous monitoring of the work already done in collection. The previous Census editions had their own forms of data collection verification and monitoring, but with fewer technological resources in comparison with what is available nowadays.

In 2022, the process of field verification changed due to the use of technological innovations and of georeferencing tools. The 2022 Population Census counts on modern geoinformation instruments and tools for the control, reach, coverage and digital monitoring, in real time, with capture of GPS coordinates, thus allowing a high level of precision in the operation - via 2022 Census Dashboard; SIGC (Integrated Management and Control System); Sispac (Analysis Plan System for the Population Census); PGI (Interactive Geographic Platform); SIG-RC (Information Management System of Data Collection Speed). It is worthy of mention that the 2022 Census supervision system has been updated and that allows an even more timely monitoring of the operation.

In the 2022 Census, the DMCs used by enumerators are equipped with telephone chips, differently from the 2010 edition. This technology allows real time monitoring, since the enumerator can send information immediately after each questionnaire is answered and have their route registered. The control of coordinates and routes enables an unprecedented geographic coverage of the Census, besides showing other variables that can be monitored throughout the operation.

Postponement of Continuous PNAD

In previous Census editions, including that of 2010, the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) was not conducted in Census years. It was believed the IBGE structure would not successfully handle both operations at the same time. In 2022, Continuous PNAD was maintained because of its nature as a short-term survey which, for this reason, should not be interrupted in Census years. An important note is that the Continuous PNAD is more comprehensive than the former PNAD.

Changing the calendar of the survey was not expected; however, that was a necessary measure intended to guarantee the quality of the survey and the simultaneous administration of the Census. We highlight that the postponement was properly informed on the IBGE website and that caused no damage to the survey. Having Continuous PNAD postponed is not an unprecedented fact, having occurred during a strike of our servants; in a period of change in the structure of our system and of the survey questionnaire; and, finally, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey was in the field in Q3 and Q4 2022, and presented, besides its basic content and regular modules, the special surveys: Q3 – Child Development and Persons with Disabilities; Q4 – Information Technology (ICT) – Platform Work and Distance Work. The results for labor market in Q3 have already been released and those relative to Q4 will be available on February 28, 2023. That will be a historic release, with Continuous PNAD 2012-2022, a Continuous PNAD in review, besides the regular releases: Monthly Dissemination covering the moving quarter ended December, Quarterly release of Q4 2022, with data disaggregated by Federation Unit. On February 24, 2023, we will release the Per capita household income based on data from Continuous PNAD.

IBGE Board of Directors
January 24, 2023