GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Bureau of Statistics on Monday said that Guyana’s population is officially 878,674, but at the end of 2024, it was recorded at 956,044.
Chief Statistician Errol La Cruez said there was 89 percent household coverage, due to smaller households and more working people, all of which are attributed to the “changing nature of society,” and that there are more migrants, some of whom are undocumented and would not want to engage with officials.
“Overall, we have a high degree of confidence in the data we have presented here,” La Cruez said, as President Irfaan Ali received the first copy of the preliminary report of the Guyana National Population and Housing Census 2022.
Deputy Chief Statistician and Census Officer, Vanessa Profitt, presented a snapshot of the preliminary report, noting that as of September 15, 2022, the population was 878,674.
The 2012 census had recorded a population of 746,955.
She said the figures represent the “highest population growth rate” since the Second World War, noting that in 2012 the local-born population was 98 per cent, and that now it has increased slightly to 3 per cent, and that the local-born population has decreased somewhat.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said many of them had migrated from neighbouring countries, as well as investors, workers, and students.
“We see that reflected in the expansion of the foreign-born population,” Singh said, adding that there would be a “far more comprehensive” preliminary report that would be posted on the Bureau of Statistics website.
He said the final report would “come in due course”.
Earlier, President Ali commended the Bureau of Statistics for the diligent and successful execution of the 2022 census, noting the magnitude and scale of the project, and reaffirming the value of the data gathered from the census for informed policymaking by his administration, including for future public investment decisions.
The Bureau of Statistics, in a 2024 statement, disputed claims that delays in publishing the 2022 census results were due to political interference, noting that the legal framework guarantees its independence and that scientific principles and international statistical standards guide its work.
The statement attributed any delays to “considerable challenges encountered during this census round,” noting that similar delays were experienced in other Caribbean countries, including Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Dominica, and St. Lucia.
Factors such as respondent suspicion, apathy, and post-COVID fatigue contributed to the slower enumeration process.
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