China

China's census, scheduled for July 1, 1981, will be preceded by a pilot census at the end of the next month. According to Mr. Y.C. Yu, Statistician in the Demographic and Social Statistics Branch of the UN, the pretest will be held in Wu Xi, a resort area of about 1.6 million persons about a 2-hour train ride west of Shanghai. Mr. Yu and Mr. Varon Kannisto will be UN observers of the pilot census. The method of enumeration will be similar to that used in the 1953 and 1964 censuses, said Mr. Yu. Each head of household will report to an enumeration station to provide information on the characteristics of household members. The questionnaire will contain about 13 items, which will be asked of 100% of the population. The 5 million enumerators will be teachers, accountants, and others, generally residents of the local area in which they will act as enumerators. Census data will be processed by computers in each of the 29 provinces and autonomous regions. The UNFPA is providing computers, data entry and ancillary equipment, software and supplies, advisory services, and training in census methods and data processing. The computers supplied by IBM will be the 4300 series; a model 4341 will be installed at the State Statistical Bureau in Beijing and 15 model 4331s will go to individual provinces. Results of earlier censuses were processed manually and with the abacus. UNFPA also plans to provide support for the analysis of census data and for their dissemination to appropriate organizations and departments in China.