Thursday October 26 11:36 AM ET

The Dead Rise to Be Counted in Turkish Census 

                    ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish census workers resurrected the dead
                    in a national head count at the weekend in a bid to earn more money
                    by inflating population figures, the chief statistician said on
                    Thursday.

                    The newspaper Hurriyet said census-takers in a number of provinces had added the names on
                    cemetery headstones to their totals.

                    ``Unfortunately it's true,'' the newspaper quoted Sefik Yildizeli, head of the State Statistics
                    Institute as saying.

                    ``Municipalities get 25 million lira ($36) per head from the Provinces Bank. That's why the
                    problem emerges. It simply isn't convincing that the population of a region doubles,'' he said.

                    Returns from regions that showed dramatic population changes would be examined closely, he
                    said.

                    A 1997 census counted 62.6 million people in Turkey and faced similar accusations of fraudulent
                    counting. Most analysts say the 2000 census, conducted on Sunday, will reveal a slightly higher
                    population. Preliminary results are expected in a few weeks.