National Statistical offices, as census implementing agencies, are faced with the challenge of releasing census results timely after census enumeration. This among other things entails shortening the data capture period mostly through more improved systems such as scanning. Malawi Statistical Office has been using scanning as a data capture method for small scale surveys since 2002. However, scanning at a large scale was used for the first time with the 2008 Population and housing census. This paper describes the preparations and the actual procedure of the automatic data capturing including the problems encountered and the lessons learned.

Paper presented at the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), Durban (South Africa), August 2009.