Revisions are part of the Census methodology
From the survey conducted between August 2022 and March 2023, to the Post-Enumeration stages, in which some households are revisited in order to calibrate the answers, including the consolidation of the main information on the scale of municipalities, a few months of great anxiety have passed for us.
Almost everything you hear about the Census has to do with public policies, essential in a country with so many needy people, but there are also commercial applications, such as It is on the IBGE website:
The selection of locations for the installation of factories, supermarkets, shopping centers, schools, kindergartens, cinemas, restaurants, stores.
Each Census marks an entire era for Geomarketing, starting from the very limited uses of the 1992 Census (look at the other delay), to the first applications with the 2000 Census, to the widespread use we had of the information from the 2010 Census.
Expectations for the 2022 Census are very high and we are ready to make optimal use of them.
First release of results generated controversy
Also at the end of December 2022, the IBGE released the preview of the Population of the Municipalities based on the data from the 2022 Demographic Census collected up to 25/12/2022.
This atypical precedent, after all the research was still collecting results, was imposed by the Federal Audit Court, which needed population information to direct the distribution of federal funds to municipalities.
The methodology used by the IBGE consisted of an estimate of what needed to be collected based on the collection already carried out.
The biggest problem was not the methodology itself, but the absence of a Population Counting Survey, scheduled for 2015 but not carried out.
This research would guide the estimates between Censuses and, without it, the variance of results became greater.
Preliminary information from the 2022 Census had no problems, as it was based on a universal survey that was already 84% complete.
The problem lay in the previous estimates that regulated the distribution of funds, which would now be revised.
There was crying and gnashing of teeth, but the consistent population count prevailed at that time, which was confirmed with the final release in June 2023.
15 million people disappeared overnight
On the day the Census was first released, Brazil, which believed it had 218 million inhabitants, woke up with “only” 203 million.
This raised doubts about the consistency of the IBGE, but garlic cannot be compared with sticks. The Census is a universal survey, it goes to every household and costs almost 3 billion reais.
The estimate is an approximation based on what is already known and the trend.
What really changed was not the size of the population, but the accelerating trend of fewer children.
It would be impossible and irresponsible to foresee a decision that has been taken within families, severely affected by the high cost of living in cities, the lack of professional perspective and so many other ills that cause fathers and mothers to think many times before bringing someone into the world.
In August 2024, the IBGE released a revision to the estimate., adding more people to the count.
An intelligent search
Another criticism of the Census came from the comparison with other countries where the survey is conducted online, or does not even take place.
In the United States, the survey can be answered online, where it is also possible to vote by post office, but the structure of households and addresses is fully comprehensive.
Using methods of this type would further isolate needy populations, precisely those that most need to be counted and understood for the design of public policies.
Some countries are small and may pass with smaller surveys that replace the Census.
Brazil has continental proportions and its population is distributed across the territory, making the Census a large scale operation.
Well for this reason, the use of high technology is essential for efficiency, control, and monitoring.
Since 2010, the survey has used geographical coordinates captured by satellites (GPS) and in the 2022 Census its use was expanded to all routes taken, creating an unprecedented network of addresses and paths.
Information from the Census Geographic Coordinates of the Addresses is due to be released on February 2, 2024.