Funding Crisis in the 2000 Round of Population Censuses Richard Leete, Chief a.i. Population and Development Branch Technical Support Division November 2001 United Nations Population Fund

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses Aims of Presentation  Case for adequate and timely national and international support for censuses  Outline of constraints experienced in 2000 census round  Ways to avoid a funding crisis in next census round

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses Foundation for Good Governance nCensuses a unique data source for *Wide range of policy and planning purposes, including delineation of administrative boundaries and regional resource allocation *Population-based indicators for tracking progress towards Millennium Development Goals

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses Value of Censuses nStrengths and distinctiveness *Complete stocktaking; continuity of national, local area and subgroup data; base for population projections nWithout a recent census planning will be based on unreliable data with possible serious policy and resource allocation distortions

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses 2000 Census Round nFunding crisis - rising costs, shrinking public sector budgets, cut-backs in ODA *Several countries postponed census increasing interval since previous census beyond 10 years *Some secured funding at late stage forcing compromises in census decision-making *Others have funding gaps that have slowed post-enumeration activities, including dissemination of results *Complex crises also affected census-taking

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses Census Intervals Exceeding 10 Years sub-Saharan Africa nInterval years – actual or expected *Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda nInterval 13+ years – actual or expected *Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tanzania

Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses National and International Support nSometimes unrealistic amounts allocated – donors’ expected to provide balance. But donors’ meetings not always successful - fatigue in funding yet another census nFinancial and technical assistance key factor in success of past censuses. *UNFPA’s policy to limit support to countries taking first or second census and to mobilise donor support *UNFPA, in partnerships esp. with UNSD, leadership role in supporting censuses *Continuing need for technical assistance esp. in poorest countries

Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses Rising Costs of Censuses nWhy is most costly data collection activity getting even more expensive? *High population growth, increasing by at least one third over 10 year period – more enumerators and higher honorarium *Imported labour and time-saving census data processing technology comes with high price tag *Even in industrialised countries per-capita census costs rising despite low population growth, sophisticated technology and use of other modern census methods – high advertising costs

Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses Main Census Costs nCensus Maps provide basis for enumerator assignments: multiple use of maps across departments can spread costs nPopulation Enumeration of each individual. Costs depend on enumeration method, source of enumerators and number of questions. Sampling can reduce costs nData Processing electronic scanning increases speed and reliability. But skills to handle it in short supply. Use of PCs for data entry can upgrade post- census capacity of NSOs

International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses Cost Saving Strategies nSharing experiences between countries. Sharing activities with neighbouring countries: common census year, core questionnaire, sharing manuals, training, processing and dissemination *Supported by UNFPA in Pacific, Central Asia, and Southern Africa. Success requires political commitment and donor support nFrom a supply and demand perspective, census data a public good – but could exploit potential of private sector and foundation support

A Way Forward i nNeed for Census Advocacy *Assist countries advocate need for conducting censuses and securing funding within countries and donor community *Line ministries need to support efforts of NSOs in making the case to finance ministries for supporting censuses *International agencies who use census data should support UNFPA to convince donors to provide support for censuses International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses

A Way Forward ii nNeed for Census Assessment *Assess funding issues in current round from developing countries and donors perspective *Research census costs to determine measures to reduce them *Demonstrate how to maximise timely dissemination and use of census results nUNFPA-led PARIS 21 Census Task Force as a modality for moving this agenda forward International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses