By: Zacharia Jalloh, Ministry of Information and Civic Education
The Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, has urged citizens across Sierra Leone not to move from one location to another in an attempt to be counted during the 2026 National Population and Housing Census, emphasising that everyone will be enumerated based on where they spend the night of December 1, 2026.
Minister Bah was speaking at the second day of the Civic Day Series Townhall in Kabala on the 3rd November 2026
Speaking on the census preparations, Minister Bah explained that enumerators would visit households to collect information on everyone who slept in the house on census night. He cautioned that citizens who relocate after census night in the hope of being counted in another district would be making a fruitless effort.
Using an example, the Minister explained that someone who spends census night in Kailahun but subsequently travels to Kambia expecting to be counted there will still be recorded in Kailahun, as that is where they spent the night of December 1.
Minister Bah also highlighted the use of digital tablets in the enumeration exercise, noting that the technology being deployed would strengthen transparency, accuracy and accountability while preventing enumerators from manipulating the process.
He disclosed that December 1, 2026, has been designated as census night, while the actual enumeration exercise will commence on December 2. Approximately 30,000 census personnel are expected to be deployed across the country to ensure that every individual is accounted for.
The Minister gave these assurances to residents of Kabala, stressing that the 2026 census would be conducted transparently and accurately through the use of modern technology. He encouraged residents to cooperate with census officials and provide the necessary information when enumerators visit their homes.
Explaining the importance of the national exercise, Minister Bah noted that census data plays a critical role in national development planning, particularly in helping the Government determine how to distribute public resources and development projects equitably across the country.
He also dismissed concerns that the 2026 census was politically motivated, making it clear that the exercise has no connection with the outcome of the 2028 general elections.
Minister Bah therefore called on citizens to embrace the census, cooperate with enumerators and prepare to participate fully in the national exercise, describing accurate population data as essential to effective governance, equitable resource allocation and the country’s development.
© Ministry of Information and Civic Education