Population census enters the digital age

24,000 enumerators spread out across this Central Asian country of 7 million to finally conduct the national population and housing census that had been postponed for two years because of COVID-19. As reminded by UNFPA, “because census data, which is collected every ten years or so, is vital to policymaking, development planning and social welfare programming, among other issues that contribute to functioning societies, every person must be counted. Absent such information, governments cannot address the needs of people they don’t know exist. Since the last census, the government has raised awareness with local authorities so that this time around, they actively supported census personnel facing any reluctance from the community”.

This is an important improvement in population census in Kyrgyzstan, as it will be able identify to people who are lacking elements related to their identity (e.g. name, nationality, DOB). CHIP hopes that the census will trigger the need for the State to restore these important elements in the affected populations, so that they can meet their broader needs.

Source: https://www.unfpa.org/news/population-census-enters-digital-age-kyrgyzstan