The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has announced that the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) will finally be conducted in August this year.
The decision comes after Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi allocated N$706 million to the NSA in his N$84-billion budget for the 2023/24 financial year to conduct the long-overdue survey.
“The Census Main enumeration is planned to take place from August to October 2023 in all corners of Namibia. Namibia’s census will for the first time be a spatially-enabled and digital census. The modus operandi will be that NSA enumerators will visit each and every household in Namibia, during a three-week period in order to undertake a total count and collect demographic and social data,” NSA Statistician-General and CEO Alex Shimuafeni said on Wednesday.
“The NSA is happy to report that it has concluded the Census mapping and pilot census as well as the PES pilot as part of the pre-enumeration phase. Currently, we are busy testing the data collection application, as informed by the pilot Census outcomes, in the seven regions (Zambezi, Erongo, Kunene, Ohangwena, Hardap, Kavango West and Omusati).”
He said 13,000 temporary staff will be recruited around the country for the exercise, while 2,900 vehicles will be required.
“To successfully undertake the Census, the NSA will recruit around 13,000 temporary staff that includes team supervisors, enumerators, constituency supervisors, IT technicians, statisticians, data monitors, programmers, HR practitioners, legal experts, communication specialists, procurement officer and fleet officers just to mention a few. The census logistics involved is massive and will require around 2,900 vehicles to ensure enumerators reach each and every corner,” Shimuafeni said.
He said all census personnel and equipment will be sourced locally, except for the 13,000 Tablets which will be borrowed from external entities.
“In particular, 11,000 Tablets will be borrowed from the United National Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) and with the other 2,000 Tablets to be borrowed from Statistics South Africa in line with South-South cooperation. Transportation of the tablets to and from Namibia will be facilitated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),” he said.
Namibia’s Population and Housing Census was originally scheduled for August 2021 but was postponed to August 2022 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, last year’s plans failed to materialise after Shiimi failed to make provisions for the census in the 2022-2023 budget.
The Pilot Census, which serves as a test or dry run for the actual population and housing census, was conducted in October 2021.
Namibia conducts a population and housing census every 10 years to gather essential data on the country’s demographic and economic landscape.
The results of the survey are crucial for policy-making, resource allocation, and planning for the country’s development.
