By Crystal ConwayAt the end of August 2010, Guyanese residents had a total of G$223,342.7 Billion in deposits in our banking system – Source: Bank of GuyanaThat was one of the more quirky facts collected by the Bureau of Statistics on display at an exhibition held at the Agency’s High Street Office yesterday. On October 15, the Bureau marked Caribbean Statistics Day and today, will mark World Statistics Day. To celebrate both, the Bureau has arranged a week of activities between the two days.The exhibition is one of those activities, and according to one staffer,NFL Jerseys China, the intention of all the activities is to raise national awareness of the importance of Statistics in everyday life.So just what is the importance of the information the Bureau gathers?Statistician with the Bureau, Mfon Akpan, weighed in on that point. He pointed out that accurate statistical information is very important in the decision-making process. If our leaders need to decide where to put a new hospital, they weigh demographic information to assess where the hospital will do the most good for the most people. When that hospital is up and running, they will use the information recorded on births, deaths, illnesses and other indicators to make policy decisions therein.A group of students get a little information from a Bureau staffer (right) on one of the displays.He noted that the need for accurate statistical information crosses into every field and is not simply confined to policy making. Business people need it to know where to make their investments, retailers need accurate information to know where the market lies and the list goes on.The exhibition yesterday was filled with interesting information on the work done by the Bureau,Wholesale Jerseys China, it included expected information and a few surprises too. For instance, most people know that the Bureau of Statistics will collect and compile data for each Population Census. Therefore demographic data is an absolute must – population, births, deaths,Cheap NFL Jerseys, arrivals and departures (migration).But what of the Guyana System of National Accounts that charts the economic pulse of the country by collecting data and examining a number of economic indicators up to and including inflation rates? What of the Trade and Price Indices?These are where the Bureau compiles information on most of the major commodities traded and sold as well as imports and exports in the country. Which is why the Bureau can say that in 2009, Guyanese consumed 41.6656 million litres of locally produced carbonated beverages and that for the first half of this year alone, we produced some 224kg of rice per capita – that’s 224kg of rice for every person listed on the census.The Census is one of the better known responsibilities of the Bureau of Statistics and they had on display a number of Census reports going back years into Guyana’s history. Most interesting was the musty old leather-bound copy of the Census Report of British Guiana – 1921. Here is an excerpt from the census page that had data on Population – Numbers and Rates of Increase:“The total number of people returned as living in the Colony of British Guiana at midnight on April 24th, 1921 was 297,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,691. These figures do not include the bulk of Aboriginal population scattered over the interior, and living in the remote parts of the Colony … The estimate on this occasion places the number of uncounted Aborigines at 9,700 of whom 2,500 are stated to be Patamonas, 2,500 Wapisanas, 2,000 Macusis while the balance is made up of Acawois, Arawaks, Caribs, Wariaus, Waiwai and Tarumas.”A lesser known department of the Bureau of Statistics is the Cartography Department where believe it or not, the Bureau of Statistics maps every single village that their enumerators will visit for their population census. Previously done by hand, these maps are still very accurate since they include every house, building, footpath and major geographical feature that occurs in each village.Staffers at the Exhibition yesterday had a number of these older hand-sketched maps up on display and right next to them were the new maps, recorded and designed with the GIS or the Geographic (or Geospatial) Information System. The GIS is a set of tools that capture, store, analyze, manage and present data that are linked to locations – it is a merging of cartography, statistical analysis and database technology. One staffer noted that the GIS is just one of a number of changes that the Bureau is undertaking in preparation for their 2012 population census.Lennox Benjamin, Chief Statistician at the Bureau told Kaieteur News that the entity is proud of its staff and the way that they are dealing with the challenges meted out to t