Officials say the move to lower costs will not compromise the official headcount
A mini-census planned for 2006 will sample fewer people than usual to save costs, in a move that officials said will bring Hong Kong in line with international trends.
The sample of people surveyed will drop from one in seven citizens to one in 10. A veteran pollster agreed with the move to bring the headcount for the by-census closer to practices in other countries.
The by-census is held every 10 years, five years after each full census.
The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Frederick Ho Wing-huen, yesterday said the move to reduce the sampling size was part of the drive to cut spending. Members of the Statistics Advisory Board have accepted the proposal, saying the impact on the quality of the census was 'acceptable'.
A government spokeswoman could not state the amount which would be saved. Hong Kong's population is more than 6.8 million.