Regional Workshop on the Use of Electronic Data Collection Technologies in Population and Housing Censuses 24-26 January, 2018 Bangkok, Thailand A Country paper on Population and Housing census of Nepal and Consideration for Electronic data capture
Nepal in Brief A landlocked country in South Asia with geographical area 147,181 square kilometers. Altitude ranges from 70 meters to 8,848 meters above sea level. Population 26.4 million (2011), Household 5.4 million, 1.35 % annual growth rate, and population density 180/square km. 125 caste/ethnic groups, 123 languages. Projected population 28.8 million (2017) The Constitution of Nepal (2015) has declared the country a Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. 7 Federal states, 753 local units - 460 Rural Municipalities and 293 Urban Municipalities
History of Population Census Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has mandated to conduct the population and housing census The first population count was undertaken in 1911 in Nepal. Since then, the process has been continuing in every ten-year. The 2011 Population Census was the Eleventh in a series of these censuses. Four censuses before the 1952/54 census are considered as head counts only. The earlier censuses of Nepal were not that precise as compared to the modern censuses.
History of Population Census Census conducted in 1952/54 is considered to be first modern census. (Because introducing internationally comparable concepts, definitions and classification. After 1961, a census has been taken in every ten years. Censuses up to 1961 were manually processed and tabulated. The computerized processing and tabulations were done only from 1971 Census. Data capturing process is still manual. The last census in this series is the 2011 Census (marked 100 years of the population counting in Nepal) Used modified de jure method for counting population
Population and Housing census 2011 Conducted in two phases Household listing (began from May 15, 2011 and ended on June 1, 2011.) Contains Questions on number of houses, Households, Household members (By Sex, Holding of Agricultural land and livestock, own account small business other than agriculture ) Individual Enumeration (17-27 June 2011) Form I Form II (sample household only) Face to face canvasser method Paper questionnaire
Organizational set up of the census 2011 A steering committee, headed by the Hon. Vice-chairman of NPC was formed to provide guidance to the CBS to ensure the smooth operation of all census activities. A Technical Committee was formed under the chair of the DG, CBS. Special thematic committees formed for publicity, data processing etc. Various working groups. District Census Coordination committee. The committee provided guidance and monitored fieldwork at the district level.
Organizational structure of the census 2011 Census 2011 Steering Committee Chair person, VC, NPC Central Bureau of Statistics (Director General) Social Statistics Division (Deputy Director general) Population Section (Director) Census Tech. Committee Chairperson, DG, CBS Thematic Committees (Mapping, Q-Design, GESI, Publicity, Processing) Chairperson, DDG, SSD District Census Office (District Census Officer) District Census Coordination Committee Chairperson, CDO Ilaka Census Office (Ilaka Supervisor) Ilaka Census Office (Supervisor) Ilaka Census Office (Enumerator)
Census questionnaire Used three type of Forms Household Listing It contains questions on number of house, households, household members by sex, agricultural land operated and livestock owned by households and operation of small scale non-agricultural activities. Individual Form -1 contains questions on types of house, household facilities/assets, ownership of house or land of female members of the household, mortality and its causes, details of absent members of households. Also, included in the form-1 are: name, relationship to head, sex, age, caste/ethnicity, marital status and age at first marriage, religion, mother tongue and second language, citizenship, type of disability, literacy and level of education. Individual Form -2 (Sample household only) contains questions on migration, fertility, labour force, occupation, industry, employment status and living arrangement of children (under the age 16)
Human Resources Approximately 41000 field staffs were engaged in census taking in 75 districts Enumerator- 31000 Supervisor- 7900 Others -2000 Supervisor- enumerator ratio was 1:4. Women participation more than 40%
Census Mapping EA maps were prepared to improve the coverage of the enumeration. Orthophoto, a database of digital maps provided by the Department of Survey, was used to prepare VDC maps with ward boundaries that helped enumerators to identify the area they were assigned to enumerate. Due to the limited time and resources, not all VDC maps were updated with changed features. However, large VDCs with urban characteristics were selected and updated with amended features and ward boundaries. In municipalities, EAs were delineated according to the number of households, ranging from 200 to 450 depending upon the availability of clear features marking boundaries.
Data Processing Data entry along with coding and editing works of the 2011 census questionnaires was outsourced to the private agencies CSPro, an integrated software developed for data entry, editing, verification and tabulation was used for data processing (key entry, editing and verification). CSPro, SPSS and STATA were used for tabulations. Approximately six hundred data processing staff, plus experts, were involved in coding, editing, key entry operations and verification. Preliminary results that contained the total number of houses, households, present population, and also absent population were released in September 2011. (within three month of enumeration) The final results of the census were released in November 2012
Key lessons learned from census 2011 Decision on financial resources required for the census should be made in time, so that operation modalities, and the selection of technology and methodologies can be fixed in advance to avoid errors. Number of census questions should be optimally determined The number of questions and the length of the questionnaire should be reduced. Reducing the length of the questionnaire will help to improve the quality of data and facilitate the use of electronic data capturing as well. Open ended questions should strictly be minimized New technology of data capturing, such as ICR, OMR or CAPI, be adopted for easing data collection, capturing and processing. Enumeration area (EA) maps should be prepared in time and use extensively for reducing coverage errors in the census.
Preparing for Population and Housing Census 2021 Census planning has been initiated from the current fiscal year (2017/18) with the approval of the programme under the programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN). CBS has started interactions with national stakeholders in view of identifying user's needs. Estimates of population for the year 2021 for all lowest administrative divisions is underway. Building enumeration blocks for all necessary areas of Country. Preparing a census project document for census 2021
CBS recent experience in Development and Application of Technological Advancements Used Tablet Computer to Enumeration for Earthquake Affected Housing Survey for National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) The application was prepared by using ODK (Open Data Kit) platform. The data collected in the field with the application was sent instantly to the central server of CBS housed at Government Integrated Data Center (GIDC) through WIFI. Use of CAPI for ongoing survey on Nepal Labour force Survey. Application of multi-modal approach for Economic Census 2018 Introduce e-census to Enumeration Using Tablet Computer to Enumeration Developing and Using Satellite Images for Census Mapping CBS constructing a database for rural/municipal and EA maps that could be used for the forthcoming Population and Housing Census and Agriculture Census with necessary maintenance
Key Issues that need consideration in deciding to undertake electronic data capture High equipment costs with limited long-term use. A census generally employs a large number of enumerators. Purchasing a Handheld device for each enumerator is costly. Devices may get lost, stolen, or break during the census enumeration. More time needed during the preparation stage. Need time for programming the application, setting up systems for data transfer and storage. Requires extensive testing. Needs more skilled programmers who are able to do sophisticated programming specific to the handheld device (e.g., Android) and all the necessary components of an electronic questionnaire application.
Key Issues that need consideration in deciding to undertake electronic data capture Requires technologically skilled enumerators with more training and field support. Requires that enumerators can use a handheld device. Requires intensive training of enumerators on use of device. Training may be more complicated than with paper questionnaires Requires more technical support in the field to replace or repair devices and troubleshooting of hardware or software application problems.
Key Issues that need consideration in deciding to undertake electronic data capture Technological problems could interfere with enumeration. The battery could run out during enumeration. The equipment could break leading to data loss or lost enumeration days. There are more infrastructure constraints to consider. A large and well-organized warehouse to store and manage Tablets and power banks will be required. Electricity needs to be available to charge the devices; challenging in areas with limited electricity. Limited Internet availability may cause difficulties in data transmission and other functions of the mobile data capture software applications that rely on the Internet. Needs a system to transfer the data from the handheld devices in a timely and secure manner. Data security must be assured during data collection, transfer, and storage. Needs a system for backing up the data to prevent data loss.
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