5th population census in March next year
Planning Minister AK Khandker said next population and housing census will be held across the country from March 15-19 next year.
“The date for census has been fixed as March 15-19, 2011and will be placed before the cabinet for its approval,” he said. The minister was presiding over the 15th extraordinary meeting of the National Statistics Council (NSC) at the conference room of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Thursday.
The next census will be the 5th in the country after the last census held in 2001. The population census is held every ten years. The process will be implemented through digital method to ensure more accuracy.
Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister AK Khandker said that although there were some errors in the previous censuses, work has been going on since last year to present an accurate census this time.
He also informed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided in principle to make the BBS as Informatics and Statistics Division.
AK Khandker also informed that steps would be taken to publish the preliminary report of the census within three months and the final report within 12 months.
Prime minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman emphasised incorporating two questions - slum household and sources of energy - in the questionnaire of the census as well as publishing the employment monitoring survey and welfare monitoring survey.
He also emphasised improving the quality of census.
Referring to Planning Division Secretary M Habibullah Majumder's comment on incorporating the question of disability in the census questionnaire, Mashiur Rahman said commitment from the government and the census is not the same thing.
Centre for Policy Dialogue Executive Director Mustafizur Rahman stressed the need for updating the base year for calculation of GDP as the country's GDP structure has changed over the period.
He added that newer sectors are coming into the country's economy. “If the parameters are not fixed, it would be difficult to change the base year," he said.
Statistics Division Secretary Riti Ibrahim said they would formulate a five-year work plan for developing the division and submit it to the finance ministry.
General Economic Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Shamsul Alam demanded review of the base year to get correct estimate of GDP while former secretary Waliul Islam urged to make the base year 2010-11.
According to recommendations of the NSC, the number of questions was fixed at 25, discarding questions on slum household, mobile connection, sources of energy and the main income source of the household. Of the 25 questions, 11 are household related and 14 on the individual.
The meeting was informed that some Tk 8 crore would be needed to conduct 25 surveys to update the GDP base year.
The NSC meeting also reviewed the development of activities regarding the Housing and Population Census, 2011 as well as the development of the decisions of the 14th extraordinary meeting of NSC.
Earlier, the four population and housing censuses were held in 1974, 1981, 1991 and 2001.
Shamsul Alam, member of General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission, economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, BBS Director General Md Shahjahan Ali Mollah, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Research Director KAS Murshid, Dr Rafiqul Huda Chowdhury, former secretary Waliul Islam, and Bangladesh Statistics Council President Nurul Islam were, among others, present.
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