How we came to count that we are 3.4 million in Uruguay

Montevideo, December 28, 2023. 

The role of innovation and technology in Uruguay’s 2023 Census.

María Pérez lives in the rural locality of Cuaró, in Artigas. She is part of the 4% of Uruguayans living in rural areas who participated in the 2023 Census. She completed the online Census form, and one day Juan Martínez, a census taker, visited her. She told him she had completed the web census, showed him the completion code, and her data was recorded.

This year, for the first time in Uruguay’s history, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) digitized part of the census process with the web Census form, allowing users to fill out the questionnaire from computers or mobile devices.

This census featured the highest incorporation of technology in the country’s history, and two months after the field operation ended, preliminary data was presented, according to INE authorities during the presentation at the Adela Reta Auditorium in Montevideo.

Six out of ten Uruguayan households chose this method to complete the census, speeding up data collection processes. That is, 60% of Uruguayan households opted for the online form.

Uruguay was the country in the region with the most people counted in this way, marking a milestone and a change in how census data is collected and managed.

Census takers completed the process with those who preferred the traditional survey method, recording the digital survey data using the completion codes. Diego Aboal, director of the 2023 Census, thanked the population: “who contributed more than 1 million hours to make the census a reality. Thank you for providing vital information for a better future for Uruguay,” he said.

3.4 million people

On Monday, November 27, the INE presented the first preliminary data of the 2023 Census, revealing “the snapshot of Uruguay”, as highlighted by journalist Daniel Castro, the event’s host. 

The most anticipated figure, revealed by Aboal, was that the population is 3,444,263 people, composed of 52% women and 48% men, with an average age of 38 years.

The data showed that the population growth since 2011, when the last census was conducted, was 1%.

According to Isaac Alfie, president of the National Census Commission, there are 822 people over 100 years old in the country, more than 26,000 are over 90, while people aged 0 to 14 represent 18% of the population.

But how were these numbers obtained? What tools, processes, technology, and people made it possible to gather this data? 

According to the director of the 2023 Census, national censuses are among the largest logistical projects in the country during peacetime. Recruiting, selecting, and coordinating the work of thousands of people in the field, systematizing information, and optimizing task assignments to minimize time are some of the challenges to overcome. This requires a multidisciplinary and multi-participant approach, in which Sofis Solutions was involved.

Data collection

From the start of the process, Sofis Solutions worked alongside the National Institute of Statistics and other stakeholders in defining, implementing, and executing the different processes. For Matilde López, Services Coordinator at Sofis, this experience was a major challenge that provided deeper insight into the census process.

One of the first challenges was adding a component that allowed the population to complete the Census form online. This innovative approach for the country had already been used in the region. 

Beyond technical issues, other problems were addressed, such as ensuring the uniqueness of households and individuals, correlating completed forms with pre-census information, monitoring coverage, understanding questions, web usability and accessibility, information security, and protection of personal data, among others.

To digitize the Census form, based on the spreadsheets usually used by the INE team, a collaborative approach was adopted to create a user-friendly, accessible, and intuitive experience, “so that anyone could use it,” López highlighted. 

A responsive web platform was developed for both computers and mobile devices. Special emphasis was placed on improving user times.

Santiago Atella, director of Sofis Solutions, explained that a microservices architecture using the Java Quarkus stack was employed. This architecture provided several essential benefits for the project, including low coupling, high cohesion, automatic scalability, and efficient use of resources following the GreenSofis methodology. It was proposed and evaluated by expert consultants.

 Census taker recruitment

A census operation requires thousands of people working. Recruitment, selection, and workload assignment were some of the challenges faced by INE. Selection was conducted through simple application forms. Based on the provided data and variables like residence and education level, the selection process for over 5,000 census takers was automated using optimization algorithms. 

Finally, the system was integrated with a WhatsApp® bot solution to confirm availability, collect data, and communicate training sessions. This automated mechanism directly contacted applicants, requested data, and integrated it into their profiles to facilitate hiring and training assignment.

Workload assignment

Workload assignment is a complex mathematical problem considering variables such as residence, pre-census data collection, georeferencing of homes, homes counted via the web, and reassignment of work.  This process was subdivided into planning each census taker’s work areas and daily scheduling of addresses.  This ensured equitable workloads and proactive management of various situations.

Additional challenges included applying different strategies in rural and urban areas, hard-to-access zones, deploying special devices in areas with security issues, and covering areas without applicants, among others.

Monitoring progress and closures

The system included a monitoring tool for tracking work completed and coverage progress. A set of indicators defined by the Census team was implemented in a monitoring solution, which also provided geographical visualization of progress, assignments, and availability, facilitating management and supervision.  These tools integrated with other systems and applications related to the Census to obtain comprehensive information and progress indexes based on generated indicators. 

According to Gustavo Cirigliano, project coordinator at Sofis Solutions, “this was made possible through coordinated work between the technical teams of the National Institute of Statistics and the company. This project also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 17, which aims for the proportion of countries that have conducted at least one national population and housing census in the last 10 years.”

The 2023 Census project required extensive planning to obtain new data on Uruguay’s population, enabling the development of public policies that meet citizens’ needs and improve various social areas, including public infrastructure.