The national census begins today and all preparations for it have been taken care of.

A national holiday has been officially proclaimed on the occasion, in order to ensure that the procedure goes smoothly and is more precise and thorough if citizens are at home.

The holiday was not really necessary, considering that the census is a 10-day affair, during which people will go about their normal businesses, but it could confer a festive air to this data-collecting step, which normally occurs every 10 years.

Whatever the case, citizens should be cooperative, making the job of the tens of thousands of employees out to collect data easy and smooth.

As the prime minister said, giving out information is not obligatory, but since the census aims at finding out the number of people residing in the Kingdom and, based on that, help decision makers organise the economy and plan “our country’s future”, there should be no reason anybody would want to withhold information.

It is important to know how many people reside in Jordan and to have a breakdown by nationality.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the Kingdom’s population was estimated to reach about 8 million this year, but some unofficial figures put the number at nearly 9 million, of which 2.5 million are foreigners.

The premier said conducting the census is testimony to the awareness of the Jordanian people and a healthy, much-needed proof of the peace the country enjoys, all the more appreciated when seeing the mayhem around.

He is right, and citizens should behave responsibly, cooperating to make the gathering of this important data successful and a truthful reflection of reality.