THE CENSUS TELLS us a huge amount about the country we all live in, and all the people we share it with.

But how much do you actually know about the form that paints the picture of where Ireland is – and where it’s going?

Let’s find out…

1. 1916

The census this year is being held on the actual anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1916. That’s 24 April (which is a Sunday).

infomatique infomatique

2. How many forms are involved?

The Central Statistics Office has printed off 2.3 million census forms to be used.

jasleen_kaur jasleen_kaur

3. The population the last time around

Census 2011 told us that the population of Ireland on that night was 4,588,252 people.  This was an increase of 348,404 from 2006.

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL

4. How many Censuses have there been so far?

This year marks the 25th census in Ireland. The first one was way back in 1821.

census.nationalarchives.com census.nationalarchives.com

5. Get ready to answer some questions

There are 30 questions on each form. For the census, the country is divided into 44 designated regions, each comprising ten field districts.

NASA Goddard Photo and Video NASA Goddard Photo and Video

6. The people asking the questions

In order to carry out the census, 4,660 enumerators are needed to distribute and collect the forms.  (Another figure for you: each enumerator will earn approximately €2,400.)

Shutterstock Shutterstock

We need census enumerators for the 2016 census. By acting as an enumerator we will need you to distribute the census forms in advance of 24 April and then return to collect them once the census has taken place. If you’re looking to make a little extra income with a flexible part-time job, you can apply to be a Census Enumerator and earn some extra money over ten weeks. Check out Census.ie for more info on and applications open today and close on 8 January (or earlier if the 15,000 positions are filled sooner).