China to recruit 6.5 million census-takers

Residents crowd in a swimming pool to escape the summer heat during a hot weather spell in Daying county of Suining, Sichuan province July 4, 2010.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to recruit 6.5 million people to carry out its once-a-decade census of the world's most populous country, the official Xinhua agency said on Sunday.

Local government officials, who have been largely responsible for previous census-taking, are too busy to do this one, Xinhua said, quoting a senior statistics official.

Most of the counters, who will work for about 1 to 2 months, collecting data on between 250 to 300 people, will be local residents in the areas they survey, said Feng Nailin, head of National Bureau of Statistics' population and employment statistics department.

The previous 2000 census showed China had a population of more than 1.29 billion. Employing special staff to carry out the census means this one is likely to cost significantly more, Feng said.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Matthew Jones)