TEHRAN — The first web-based general census in Iran began on Saturday and will last until mid-October, IRIB reported.

This is the first phase of the national census over which data would be collected online by referring to www.sarshomari95.ir, said Omid-Ali Parsa, the director of the Statistical Center of Iran, adding, over the second phase which falls on October 16 to November 15 surveyors will visit the rest of the households to fill out forms for those who did not use the website.

People need to fill out a form which includes 29 questions about their personal information, educational status, marital status, career, etc. which will remain confidential, Parsa said, noting, the users will be given a tracking code which are supposed to keep to give to the surveyors in the second phase.

This is the first time that Iran is using the internet to gather data for the census and it is projected that some 45 percent of the population would choose to use the web-based services since 45 percent of the people have access to the internet, he added.

The new online data gathering system is both time and cost efficient, Parsa highlighted.

The census is being conducted every five years in Iran. The first nationwide census was held in 1956.

MQ/MG