| Data Systems, including
Censuses & Indicators
Information about a country's population, growth,
characteristics, living conditions, spatial distribution and physical
resources is vital for rational policy formulation, planning and
implementation. For this reason, the collection and analysis of
population and development data constitute a fundamental part
of the web of policy-related activities. Over the past two decades,
many countries have made demonstrable progress in obtaining such
data. Yet, much remains to be done to bring the data fully to
bear on population and development policy-making.
Planners need population and development data
and information to assess demographic trends; to assess the socio-economic
situation of women; to design population policies, strategies
and programmes; to integrate population factors into development
planning; to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policies
and programmes in light of national and international development
goals; and to help promote population awareness among government
decision makers and the population at large. All these tasks require
a vast body of information and statistical series, which in turn,
require viable national statistical institutional capacity as
well as training and research in demographic and statistical methods.
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UNFPA has long played a leadership
role in supporting national efforts at conducting
decennial population censuses. Country programmes
aimed to build national capacity and technical competence
for sustainability have been supported by UNFPA assistance.
In November 2001, UNFPA in partnership
with PARIS21, convened an International Expert Group
Meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, on Mechanisms for
Ensuring Continuity of 10-Year Population Censuses:
Strategies for Reducing Census Costs. The Expert Group
Meeting was attended by representatives from 41 countries,
comprising mainly developing countries, as well as developed
countries, donors and multilateral agencies. The meeting
was inspired in its serious consideration and discussion
of major population census issues by the opening address
of Mr. Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance of South Africa,
who made a strong case that census information was essential
for progressing towards his nation’s vision of development..
The report of the
meeting, containing the conclusions, recommendation
and next steps, is among the material
that can be accessed here, which also includes the
meeting papers and power point presentations.
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Despite great improvement in data collection
and analysis, even the basic demographic indicators provided by
many countries are unreliable, incomplete, or difficult to obtain.
This so-called ‘data barrier’ is an obstacle for planners in many
developing countries.
UNFPA helps developing countries collect, inter
alia, sex-disaggregated data on the population's socio-cultural,
health, and economic characteristics, and to analyze and disseminate
the information. The Fund provides technical assistance and support
for census taking, demographic and health surveys, computer software
development and training in these areas. It also supports socio-cultural
research using qualitative and participatory research methods.
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Data gaps impede efforts
to formulate evidence-based policies
and design programmes and channel resources
to those most in need. Accurate population information
and statistics are indispensable to study how demographic
trends are affected by, and have an impact on, social,
economic and environmental factors. Major gaps exist
in these areas:
- population issues
- women’s reproductive health
- women’s work
- migration, particularly at the regional and international
levels
- data relevant to the effects of population growth
and distribution on poverty,
environment and natural resources.
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The collection of internationally comparable
data is only the beginning of the process. Data must be adequately
analysed, widely disseminated and formally integrated in sustainable
development planning–all of which requires complex skills and,
consequently, technical training.
More research is required on reproductive health
and education within the socio-cultural context for sexual and
reproductive behaviour. New challenges relating the demographic
dynamics of ageing and youth needs, urbanization and migration,
deteriorating rural and agricultural conditions, poverty reduction
and wasteful consumption and links to population need attention.
Programmes to end violence and other abuses
against women, and to eradicate harmful practices such as female
genital mutilation, require research on gender roles and relationships
and belief systems. Gender-disaggregated data is needed in order
to provide a more accurate picture of women’s economic contributions
to society, including their management roles and their unpaid
labour in the family and in the informal sector.
UNFPA has supported a wide range of data-analysis
exercises over several decades. It has helped conduct national
censuses, compiled databases and continues to assist countries
in their efforts to mainstream gender in data collection, analysis,
and use.
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Many countries across all continents
would have been unable to conduct population censuses
without technical assistance provided by the Fund.
This ranges from support for entire censuses, particularly
in countries conducting a first modern census, to
highly technical elements of census capacity building
in other countries, such as in cartography, data processing,
data analysis and dissemination, including census-based
poverty mapping. In many countries, censuses provided
the only stocktaking of the population and its characteristics.
Without census information, evidence-based population
and development planning would not be possible.
Population censuses are essential
for policy and planning purposes. Censuses provide
the foundation for good governance and for measuring
development progress. They should be held every 10
years as part of a country’s strategy for sequenced
and integrated information. Funding constraints have
seriously affected the 2000 census round, especially
in least developed countries: several countries have
postponed censuses or are experiencing funding shortages.
Population-based data and indicators
are crucial for national and sub-national policies and
plans, for development frameworks, such as the United
Nations’ Common Country Assessment (CCAs) and the WB/IMF's
Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers (PRSPs), for results
based management, as well as for tracking progress towards
the international development goals, such as contained
in the International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) and in the Millennium Declaration. Censuses provide
a unique data source for meeting a good proportion of
these needs. If combined with sample surveys they can
provide for most of them.
UNFPA plays a prominent role as
a primary stakeholder in helping to define population-based
development indicators for various country programming
and monitoring purposes, as well as in supporting
national statistical capacity-building efforts to
collect the required data. Its goal is to help build
sustainable statistical systems and create the conditions
for evidence-based policy making, especially in support
of national poverty reduction programmes.
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