Statistics Sierra Leone has urged citizens to remain in their usual places of residence on Census Night, December 1, 2026, warning against travelling to ancestral villages solely to be counted.

The agency made the call during the Waterloo Civic Day Series on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, as preparations continue for the National Population and Housing Census.

Samuel Ansumana, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Statistics Sierra Leone, explained that the census would follow the de facto counting method, meaning people would be counted where they physically spend the night of December 1.

He warned that census migration could distort population figures and affect the allocation of essential services, including schools, healthcare facilities, clean water and other development projects.

Mr Ansumana said the census date was selected following technical assessments conducted with international development partners, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United States Census Bureau.

He also disclosed that the government had invested more than US$12 million in digital enumeration tablets to support the exercise. The technology includes satellite internet connectivity to reach remote communities and geofencing systems designed to prevent enumerators from recording information outside their assigned areas.

According to Statistics Sierra Leone, special questionnaires have been developed to capture vulnerable and mobile populations, including homeless people, market vendors sleeping at their stalls, hospital in-patients and night-shift workers.

The agency said the census would cover 23,000 enumeration areas nationwide, with recruitment of fieldworkers coordinated through district committees involving paramount chiefs and local councils.

It added that a toll-free verification line would be available for residents who believe their households have been missed during the exercise.