Statistics South Africa said that it will spend R3.2 billion on the nationwide population and housing census scheduled for next month.
The entity is targeting 17 million households to collect demographic data.
The census was meant to take place last year, 10 years after the last one in 2011, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stats SA will also be relying on online data collection for the first time in its history but has, however, raised concern over slow registration uptake.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Thembi Siweya explained the significance of the census.
“As government, we would want Stats SA as independent as they are to collate data that is going to help us to understand the household. How many people are employed? How many are not employed? Who is at school? Who is not at school? Who is at crèche? Who is not in a crèche? Why are they not so? And the household income,” Siweya said.