Autores: Diego Aboal and Federico Segui
Publicado en: Documento de Trabajo CINVE 01/2026 ISSN: 1688-6186
Abstract
Uruguay’s 2023 Population Census achieved 60% digital participation through Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI); a rate unmatched in Latin America and comparable to those of developed countries on their initial large-scale digital census implementations. This paper addresses the question of which operational factors enabled this outcome, discussing their relative contributions and assessing their transferability to other developing-country contexts. Drawing on detailed operational data from the census, we examine four interacting elements: the strategic use of the national electricity utility’s meter database as a near-universal household register and authentication mechanism; the development of a mobile-first digital platform capable of sustaining over 75,000 daily submissions (approximately 5% of all households); a phased, multi-channel communication campaign; and a comprehensive pre-census cartographic validation producing a verified address frame. We provide evidence of the direct relationship between specific communication campaign events and daily submission rates, demonstrating that peaks of 40,000–75,000 responses coincided precisely with campaign milestones. We compare Uruguay’s results with international benchmarks across the Americas, Oceania, and Europe within a structured analytical framework, and discuss the prerequisites and sequencing of investment that other countries would likely need to replicate comparable outcomes.
Keywords: CAWI; digital census; online enumeration; census methodology; Uruguay; Latin America; administrative data; mobile-first design; behavioral economics.