Lessons Learned from 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census and Session 4 Census Planning and Management Lessons Learned from 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census and Planning for 2019 By-Census Yin Yin Kyaing, Deputy Director Department of Population MYANMAR

Contents: The 2014 Census Challenges of 2014 Census Lessons learned from 2014 Census Consideration for 2019 By-Census

2014 Population and Housing Census Myanmar conducted its population and housing census in March 2014, the first census in 30 years Technical and financial support from UNFPA and donors enabled DOP to conduct a census whose results have been released in a timely and accessible manner Data analysis has been carried out with intense consultation with potential data users (government, civil society organizations, private sector, academia, community leaders and development partners) and disseminations in different forms are on going process.

Census Process The census process involves several components, which can be grouped into four broad stages:- (1) Planning, management and preparatory work (2-5-2011 – 29-3-2014) (2) Field operations (30-3-2014 - 31-5-2014) (3) Data processing (1-6-2014 - 31-12-2014) (4) Census products and dissemination (1-1-2015 - 31-12-2017)

Coordination structure Central Census Commission Central Census Committee National Advisory Committee ( NAC ) State/Regional, District, Township Committees ITAB Supervisory Structure Ministry of Immigration and Population Department of Population Department of Immigration State/Region, District, Township Immigration Offices Institutional Structure National Census Coordinator Chief Technical Advisor and consultants Officials responsible for Budget, Data Processing, Cartography, Training, Publicity, etc Implementation Structure

Preparatory Work Basic Population and Area Listing EA maps Questionnaire Design and instruction manual Pilot Census, Printing & Distribution of all documents OMR System and Data Processing Recruitment of Enumerators & Supervisors Publicity campaign Population and Housing Census law (2013)

Field Operation Enumeration took place from 30 March to 10 April 2014 in almost all parts of the country About 83,000 enumerators and 25,000 supervisors were deployed across the country A team of 47 independent observers (23 international, 24 national) carried out observation in all States and Divisions

Data Processing Data Entry from Summary sheet for Preliminary Results Preparation for Scanning Scanning Character Inspection and Key Correction Editing and Coding Data analysis and Tabulation

Data Products Census reports Maps and Atlas Tabulations and databases Excel Tables Microdata Geographic data Interactive data sets/map, REDATAM, etc. Publications and reports Census reports Maps and Atlas 14 Thematic Analysis Reports Methodological reports and documentation Administrative reports Data products consist of three product types. Tabulations and databases Publications and reports Metadata Tabulations and databases are the releases of the data. These include tabulations, microdata, and geographic data such as shapefiles, lines, and other data needed to make maps. Publications and reports have accompanying text or involves a level of analysis. These include census reports, maps and atlases, general interest and special audience products, methodological reports and documentation, and administrative reports. The third group of data products are metadata which are data about the data.

Selected Key Findings from the Census Number of States 15 Total Population 51,486,253 Male 24,824,586 (48.2%) Female 26,661,667 (51.8%) % urban 30% Area (Km2) 676,577.2 density (per Km2) 76.1 Median age 27.1 Annual population GR 0.89% Mean household size 4.4 Sex ratio 93

Challenges Too little lead time to plan for the Census and a lot of activities had to be done in a short period Ongoing conflicts The importance of ethnic identity, including to political representation (ethnicity questions) Proximity to the 2015 national election Early Census in some areas (accessibility, tensions, hash weathers…)

Challenges Proximity to the Matriculation exam (Recruitment of supervisors and enumerators) Widespread use of languages Payment to Supervisors and enumerators Heavy workload of Mapping Operation Disability Questions

Lessons learned Participation and Ownership of the Census Observation mission Capacity gaps and capacity building Use of Modern Technology Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

Participation and Ownership of the Census Ownership of the census was achieved through the following: Engaging with Key leaders (Religious, Ethnics, Political..)  Engaging with Civil Societies (the National Advisor Committee, NGO networks, INGOs, Youths, Women’s groups, etc.) Implementation of a robust communication and publicity campaign, reaching almost all corners of the country Involvement and consultation of various interest groups to make input into the Census (e.g. questionnaire design, tabulation plan, thematic analysis, etc.; and for specialised topics such as disability, labour force, etc).

Capacity gaps and capacity building Capacity gap in organising and implementing a census due to lack of census for 30 years.   Instituting a technically credible and internationally representative technical advisory board (ITAB), with diverse range of expertise, advise and support the Ministry of Immigration and Population in the implementation of the census. The ITAB drew membership from 15 highly qualified demographers, statisticians and social scientists from different countries and institutions involved in censuses across the world. South-South cooperation by inviting technical experts from India and Australia in the development of Census materials.

Observation Mission during Enumeration 23 international observers from 20 countries, experts in data collection and previously involved with census observation, census operation, census analysis or large-scale surveys. 24 national observers researchers with experience in socio- economic data collection and analysis.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration  Use of Modern Technology Data capture was done through state-of-the-art scanning technology. The timely release of the census result was largely due to the embracing and utilisation of modern technologies Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration The involvement of other Ministries and Government Departments contributed immensely to the success of the Census (MOE, MOHA, MOHS..etc) The General Administration Department at the Township level facilitated the preparation and execution of the census.

Consideration for 2019 By-Census The next Population Census in 2024. Ten years between two Censuses is rather long in an era when Socio-economic situation of a country changes rapidly. Planning to conduct a By-Census in 2019 (5%) to fulfill the data gap between the two Censuses Will emphasize more on migration, education and disability information Will be used for population projection of the country

Consideration for 2019 By-Census (What have we done so far) Minister approved. Preparing the plan to submit to Cabinet Estimated Costing Resource mobilization (Government budget/donors)

Consideration for 2019 By-Census Preparation of Project document An assessment of the accessibility of the roads, terrain, available transportation facilities, weather and security conditions will be made in order to incorporate such challenges in the plan. Consultation process will be done during early stages of planning with different stakeholders, communities and groups. Supervisors and enumerators will be recruited voluntarily.

Consideration for 2019 By-Census Sensitive questions (ethnicity, religion) will not be included in the questionnaire. For the question on disability, the 6 domains recommended by the Washington Group on Disability will be utilized. Detailed information on Migration and Education will be included. Modern technology for Mapping (GIS) and Data Collection (CAPI - Computer-Assisted Person Interviewing)

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