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Muscat: The 2010 General Census in the Sultanate will now take place in April 2010 and not in December that year, as previously announced.
The change in the schedule was necessitated by a desire to standardise the so-called "attributive night," a common reference point adopted by the GCC states in conducting a joint census in 2010.
Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Macki, Oman's minister of national economy and also Supervisor-General of the 2010 Census, said in a statement that the revised scheduled will harmonise the respective visions of the Gulf states in ensuring the smooth conduct of the Gulf-wide census.
Oman's elaborate census machinery is banking on its experience of two previous population censuses (1993 and 2003) to ensure a smooth count in 2010.
Paper-free
The authorities are pledging to make the next census a largely paper-free exercise through the extensive use of hand-held personal digital assistants (PDAs).
During the last 2003 General Census, the sultanate was credited with being the first country in the world to incorporate the use of PDAs in its population count.
During the last national census hundreds of volunteers fanned around the country collecting details of its citizens even in the remote corners to ensure that no citizen is left out.
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