Government hopes to release the 2000 census by the end of this year - six months late and almost two and a half years after it began collecting data.

Statisticians started collecting the information in May 2000, and the long-awaited report is finally with the printers, acting chief statistician Valerie Robinson James told The Royal Gazette this week. Mrs. Robinson James said she hoped the report would be out by the end of the year and blamed the latest hold-up on extra checking of the information to make sure there are no mistakes.

"We have the report at the printers and we are at the stage of going back and forth to the printers to ensure its is formatted correctly. We are hoping we will have the report released by the end of the year," she said.

"What caused the delay was that we were doing a lot of proofing and verification and that was a long process."

She said the Boundaries Commission, which redrew Bermuda's electoral map earlier this year, was supplied with information from the census on all Bermudians, including those by status, aged 16 or over for its work. When the report is finally published it will bring to a conclusion a long-running saga. In February, Premier Jennifer Smith said the final report would be ready by July, one month behind schedule.

In July, chief statistician Janet Smith Bradshaw said she hoped the report would be out in September. She blamed delays on Government information takers incorrectly filling in forms.

She said at the time the census was taking longer than the last in 1991 because more people were reluctant to give information.