Bangladesh is going to use digital enumeration maps and a unique geo-coding system for the first time in holding the 5th Population and Housing Census in the country.
Preparation is going on in full swing to hold the census in five days in March next year, said the chief of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Digital enumeration maps and the computerized geo-coding system will be used to collect the data and disseminate results simultaneously in hard and soft formats as well as on the web
page, BBS Director General Md Shahjahan Ali Mollah told BSS today.
He said over 70,000 maps, made by aerial photographs, containing each mouja and union across the country would be used in conducting the census.
To conduct the census, Bangladesh will be divided into 3,30,000 enumeration areas, each with about 120 households, the BBS chief said adding it will engage 2,700 zonal officers, 530 upazila or thana coordinators, 120 district, 35 regional and 10 divisional coordinators.
There will be 60,000 supervisors to be selected from the local educated youths to work across the country. One supervisor will be engaged for 6 to 7 enumerators in data collection.
The census will be conducted in three phases. The first one will be the main census for collecting basic characteristics of all households and population of the country.
In the second phase, post-enumeration quality check will be
conducted to determine the coverage and content error of the main
census.
Thirdly, a sample census-collection of data from about one percent household with a long questionnaire on detailed socio- economic characteristics will be done to supplement the main census.
Bangladesh has a long history of census. The first one was conducted in this territory in 1872. Since then censuses have
been conducted in every 10 years.
The present government has taken a number of steps to strengthen the capacity of the state-run BBS to conduct the population and housing census.
The Statistics Division has been geared up to produce and provide better data, the DG said. “Everybody will have their photographs, fingerprints in digital format to promote digital Bangladesh by 2021.”
According to the election pledge of the government, he said, the prime minister is keen to establish a national population register (NPR) and citizens’ database for everyone of the country.
Ensuring reliable data, he said, the US Census Bureau is providing modern software and scanner while the European Union (EU) and UNFPA are giving financial assistance side by side with the Bangladesh government.
Of the total funding for conducting the population and housing census-2011, Mollah said the government is providing about Taka 145 crore while the EU and UNFPA Taka 102 crore.
The amount is enough for holding the census-2011, not for NPR activities, he said.
The director general said census is considered a vital mechanism for providing an adequate data set on the population at all levels of the administrative units as it provides the basis for sound and informed policy making.
“Quality data is essential to improve people’s lives,” he said adding that it would provide population size, growth, composition and distribution for the projection of food, education, infrastructure, employment, health care and assessment of various other basic requirements as well as analysis of past, present and future growth of population.
The BBS chief said all types of print and electronic media will be used for census like television tell-off, radio jingle, news paper supplement, discussion, census film, poster and banner and it will continue for six months starting from October 2010.
Geocoding/Mapping System
The? Geocoding/Mapping System is a web-based tool designed to help financial institutions meet the legal requirement to report information on mortgage, business, and farm loans. Geocoding refers to the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), State, County, Census Tract combination (address information) that must be provided for each reported loan. The system allows institutions to enter a street address, and it then determines the census tract. When an address is not found, the mapping feature enables the user to determine the property location based on known landmarks without resorting to a paper map. The system also provides Census demographic information about a particular census tract, including income, population, and housing data. Institutions use this information to assess whether they are meeting the credit needs of the communities in which they operate.
