Amman, February 9 (Petra) – Director of the Department of Statistics (DoS) Haider Freihat said the 2026 General Population and Housing Census is among the largest and most significant national statistical projects. Freihat explained that the census is being conducted through a comprehensive enumeration approach rather than sampling, covering all dwellings, households and establishments across the Kingdom.

At the first meeting of the Media Committee for the 2026 Census, Freihat said that the implementation process was divided into four main phases, two of which have been successfully completed.

The Department recently entered the third phase, while the fourth and final phase the actual enumeration is scheduled to be carried out later in 2026.

He said the first phase focused on extensive desk preparations, including reviewing lessons learned from the previous census, leveraging accumulated expertise, coordinating with international organisations and relevant government institutions and finalising census questionnaire content in accordance with strict statistical, technical, financial and time standards.

The measures aim to reduce the time required for field visits without compromising data quality.

Freihat said that the second phase, the "blocking" phase, relied on high-resolution aerial imagery covering the entire Kingdom approximately 89,000 square kilometers.

The high-resolution aerial imagery, he added, enabled the division of Jordan into 24,000 electronic statistical blocks based on criteria that ensured equitable distribution of fieldwork among researchers.

The process covered all types of dwellings without exception, including houses, apartments, buildings, tents, Bedouin tents, caves and kiosks.

He added that the second phase lasted several months and involved hundreds of field staff. It was strengthened through the "blocking plus" phase, which included direct field verification of building characteristics and uses, enhancing accuracy and preparedness for subsequent stages.

Freihat said that the third phase, which has recently begun, involves preliminary enumeration activities.

Around 600 field researchers, he said, would work for approximately six months to identify residential units and households without entering homes, in preparation for the final count.

He said that all census phases are supported by an advanced technological infrastructure, including central servers, secure communication networks and GPS-enabled tablets.

The fourth and final phase would involve between 8,000 and 10,000 field researchers, mostly new recruits. They wwould undergo intensive training and be subject to rigorous human and electronic supervision to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and reliability, Freihat said.

He discussed the Media Committee's role in ensuring the census's success. He said that the coming period would see a gradual intensification of media messaging and awareness campaigns.

The DoS efforts aim to inform the public of the census's importance and encourage cooperation with field researchers, underscoring that it is a national project serving both the state and its citizens.

The meeting included a presentation on progress achieved in the 2026 General Population and Housing Census, a detailed briefing on the recently launched field enumeration phase and a review of the media plan.

Participants discussed implementation mechanisms and ways to ensure alignment between media activities and field operations.

//Petra// AK