The completion of Antigua and Barbuda’s long-awaited 2025 Population and Housing Census is facing growing headwinds, as persistent noncompliance from a segment of residents continues to throw up major barriers for frontline enumerators, national census officials confirmed this week.
Deputy Census Officer Tracelyn Joseph detailed the range of challenges field teams have encountered since enumeration work kicked off earlier this year. In multiple communities across the twin-island nation, workers have faced outright refusal to answer census questions, intentional efforts by residents to avoid contact, and even coordinated attempts to hide participation – with some people reportedly coaching family members to tell enumerators they are not home. Joseph added that even outreach outside residential properties has failed to win cooperation from a subset of holdouts, with these residents turning down participation when approached in public spaces.
Amid these widespread difficulties, however, there have been small signs of progress. Joseph noted that a number of residents who initially rejected involvement have softened their stance over time, choosing to cooperate after multiple return visits from enumerators.
Even as the field team works to win voluntary participation, officials are reminding the public that census participation is not optional. Under Section 17 of Antigua and Barbuda’s 2013 National Bureau of Statistics Act, all residents are legally required to complete the census. Those who fail to provide the requested information face severe legal penalties: fines of up to $10,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars, a prison sentence of up to two years, and an additional $1,000 fine for every day noncompliance continues after a conviction.
Joseph stressed that if widespread resistance does not abate, enforcement action will eventually be required to bring the census to a successful close. She also pushed back against common concerns that have driven nonparticipation, emphasizing that all individual data collected during the enumeration process is protected by strict confidentiality rules. No information will ever be released in a format that identifies individual respondents, she confirmed.
Census leadership has set a target of wrapping up the entire national enumeration exercise by the end of 2025. This is not the first setback the 2025 census has faced, however. Field operations have already experienced multiple delays since launching earlier this year, including a mandatory temporary pause during the country’s general election period earlier in 2025.
Officials reiterate that the final census data will serve as a foundational resource for the country, supporting evidence-based research, advancing educational initiatives, and shaping long-term development planning and government decision-making across every sector in Antigua and Barbuda.