Costa Rica Census 2022

 

Aloe Vera flowers in Puriscal, Costa Rica

Costa Rica is taking a census this year. The last one was in 2011. I remember that one because John wasn't home and I had to answer the questions on my own. The census taker came to the gate this week. He wore an official vest and badge to give us confidence he wasn't a scammer. 

strangler fig growing on large tree

I read the questions on the internet a few weeks ago so I had an idea what was going to be asked. They were supposed to be able to accommodate English and Mandarin speakers. The man we got only spoke Spanish. This year the answers were entered directly into a smart phone. Costa Rica was proud of this because they get the results in real time. 

Questions were asked about the type of house we lived in, the condition, how it was constructed, number of rooms and if it was fully paid for. They wanted to know about the septic tank, potable water and electricity source. He inquired about garbage disposable and recyclables. He asked if we had a TV, radio, computer, mobile phone, tablet, internet access, car or motorcycle.

Orange wild flower in Puriscal, Costa Rica

He wanted to know our ethnicity, age, where our parents were born and how much education we had. He asked if we have a vegetable patch, chickens or other agriculture. There were questions about how we earn a living. One question in particular stood out to me... he asked if we wore eye glasses. Afterwards, we received a sticker to put on the window alerting other census takers that this household was done.