China begins its third 1 percent national sample census at 12:00 AM on November 1, covering a population of over 13 million, according to the National Statistics Bureau.

China, the most populous country with over 1.3 billion people, has so far carried out five national censuses in the past 56 years since 1949. The Chinese government started in the 1980s to punctuate thorough National Censuses with sample censuses, which sample one percent of the population.

The priority of the upcoming sample census will be on the floating population, new-borns and the deceased, said Zhang Weimin, deputy director of the bureau and a member of the leading group in charge of the sample census.

The census, the third of its kind, will cover some 90,000 residential quarters in 2,800 counties, cities and districts of the country's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The inquirers will conduct in-house registration in every household of the residential quarters under the sample survey, Zhang said.

Data processing will start from November 16, which includes data collecting, coding, data-in, and releasing communique.

The upcoming census, announced by China's State Council last October, will sample over 13 million people, which accounts for 1 percent of China's total population.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2005)