RIYADH: The General Authority for Statistics launched the “building numbering” phase for the 2020 census on Monday, which will last 33 days until Friday, March 6. This marks the start of the first phase of field work for Saudi Census 2020, the fifth nationwide census of Saudi Arabia’s population, housing and establishments. The General Authority for Statistics relies on information from Saudi Post to survey buildings. The “building numbering” phase aims to provide information about buildings and real estate units for use in the census project, to distribute the workforce necessary to count the population and provide data on the number of families and their members.  It is carried out by more than 11,000 field monitors, and will be followed by the process of conducting the wider census itself, from March 18 until April 6. That phase will rely on the effort and cooperation of over 60,000 staff. Saudi Census 2020 will provide a broad base of statistical data that will be used as a reliable basis in conducting studies and research required by development programs and plans in the Kingdom in achieving the goals of Vision 2030. In addition, it will allow the government and various other bodies to measure the change in population characteristics with the passage of time, making local, regional and international comparisons, and reviewing and evaluating future population estimates to direct policy.