Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

No idea whether postponed census will happen this year

No idea whether postponed census will happen this year

Director of the Central Statistics Office (DSCO), Raymond Phillips is hoping there are mechanisms in place to request emergency funding if the option to conduct the national census this year becomes viable.

The 2020 census has been postponed for the last two years because of the COVID-19. With this postponement, funding for the initiative did not appear in the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) budget for either of those years.

Funding for Census 2020, again, did not appear in the 2022 budget as instructions were given not to include certain expenditures. The unpredictability of the pandemic means it remains unclear whether the exercise will be undertaken this year.

Addressing the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) late last year, Director Phillips referred to the potential cost of Census 2020. He said there are good reasons why censuses are every ten years as they are expensive, require many persons, and consume a vast amount of time to be completed.

In his presentation to the Committee — the details of which was outlined in the 2022 SFC report — Phillips also said the estimated cost for the enumeration of the Virgin Islands population is $30 per household. Currently, he noted, the territory has approximately 15,000 households which add up to roughly $450,000.

“The field exercise could run for six months, and the estimated cost does not include the cost associated with safety measures for a safe interview process. This does not include the cost of handheld devices that would be used to do the interviews. There are also other costs associated with coding and editing and other personnel who are involved in the internal processes,” the SFC’s report on Phillips’ presentation said.

More money will be needed


According to the SFC report, Phillips also told the SFC he hopes consideration is given to increase the budget from $30 per household. He said the current amount does not serve as an incentive for census interviewers; adding that this would increase the budget even more.

“Unfortunately, it appears that patriotism no longer serves as a good incentive,” the DSCO reportedly told the SFC.

He stated that censuses are very challenging frustrating and sometimes even dangerous. He also stated that compensation should come in to encourage maximum efforts.

Phillips further mentioned that there are other budgetary considerations that the SCO needs to think about.

“We need to obtain a high-definition drone which captured maps for fieldwork. We would have to consider incentives for households to encourage participation and hire transportation due to the increase in high gasoline prices that we are facing now. The non-budgetary requirement includes the legal reviews by Cabinet of the Statistics Act to include Regulations and a commitment from high-level government officials to undertake activities to encourage participation,” Phillips added.

He further stated that he was not aware of any written local, regional or international declaration that conducts the mandate of the census here in the Virgin Islands, but like the rest of the world, he noted the territory endeavours to adhere to this standard.

The current health crisis has crippled the efforts of the Statistics Office as personal interactions are discouraged. This encouraged innovative methods which are less expensive but more challenging and less effective. The CSO said they did a test survey by sending out links in text messages to residents and the responses were underwhelming.

The DSCO also said persons have been unwilling to share data. In April of last year, the government promised to revise the Statistical Act to make it mandatory for persons to provide data to the Central Statistics Office.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×