PICTs need up-to-date databases of geographic boundaries such as villages, settlements, households and data collection units for the planning, and utilization of data related to census and survey activities. These boundaries and spatial locations help to identify the areas within which census interviewers/enumerators have to work, identify the location of households, and serve as basic geographic units for which to collect and report official statistics.

Federated States of Micronesia (along with other PICTS) have established a geo-referenced database of GPS location of dwellings. The use of these locations is key ingredient in the planning pre enumeration phase of the census. The GPS coordinates give census management a tool to check whether enumerators have covered all households in their area of responsibility.

The use of GPS for census taking has a distinct advantage in allowing the linking of census records to an actual physical location. In most PICTs, as is the case in many developing countries, no exact location database of dwellings exist for census project use, and a lack of street names and numbers mean no address lists are available.

Scott Pontifex,
GIS Specialist