AMMAN — Director General of the Department of Statistics (DoS) Haidar Fraihat on Monday presided over the inaugural session of the media committee for the General Population and Housing Census 2026.

 

During the meeting, Fraihat said the General Population and Housing Census 2026 is expected to be one of the Kingdom’s largest and most important national statistical projects, providing accurate data that support public policy and guide economic and social decision-making.

 

He also noted that the census is being carried out using a full enumeration method rather than relying on samples, and will cover all households, residences and establishments across the Kingdom.

 

Preparations for the census began two years ago, with the implementation process divided into four main stages; two of which have already been completed, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 

The Department has recently entered the third stage and is set to conclude the process with the fourth and final stage, the actual enumerationlater this year.

 

Fraihat added that the first phase involved; extensive preparatory work at the office level, including a review of the previous census experience, drawing on "accumulated" expertise, coordinating with international organisations and relevant government bodies and finalising the questions to be included in the census forms.

 

The process followed "precise" statistical, technical, financial and timing standards to ensure that field visits to households are kept brief without compromising the quality of the data.

 

"The second phase, dubbed the ‘bundling’ phase, relied on high-resolution aerial imagery covering the Kingdom’s entire area of some 89,000 square kilometres, which was used to divide Jordan into 24,000 electronic statistical blocks,” he said.

 

The process followed standards designed to ensure a fair distribution of fieldwork among enumerators and to include all types of dwellings without exception, from houses, apartments and buildings to tents, traditional Bedouin shelters, caves and kiosks.

 

Fraihat added that this phase took several months and involved hundreds of field personnel, and was reinforced by the ‘Bundling Plus’ stage, which included direct field verification of the nature and use of buildings, contributing to higher accuracy and better preparedness for the next phase.

 

He also noted that the third phase, which was launched recently, is the enumeration phase, involving around 600 field researchers working over around six months to record residential units and households without entering the homes, in preparation for the actual census.

 

Fraihat added that all phases are supported by "advanced" technological infrastructure, including central servers, secure communication networks and tablets equipped with the GPS systems.

 

"The fourth and final phase will involve 8,000 to 10,000 field researchers, mostly new staff who will undergo intensive training and strict human and electronic supervision to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and credibility," he said.

 

He also highlighted the pivotal role of the media committee, noting that upcoming campaigns will gradually intensify to raise public awareness of the census and encourage full cooperation, as a national project serving both the state and citizens.

 

The meeting included a review of progress in the General Population and Housing Census 2026, a detailed briefing on the newly launched enumeration phase, and a discussion of the media strategy for this stage, focusing on coordination with field operations, Petra reported.