Population & Housing Census of Bhutan 2005 Experiences, lessons learnt & issues

Background First census in Bhutan undertaken during Desi Chogyal Sherub Wangchuk ( ). After that census enumeration carried out annually in all Dzongkhags in the country. Did not follow international norms and hence cannot be compared with other countries nor are proper records maintained for ready reference and retrieval.

Background After 1960s – Citizenship registration/census Purpose: To register births and deaths of citizens and update the citizenship register Frequency: Annual

PHCB 2005 To enable the conduct of PHCB 2005 the government put in place the following: Endorsement of conduct of PHCB 2005 by the 82 nd session of the National Assembly Office of the Census Commissioner established National Census Committee formed Population & Census Technical Committee formed Consulted the Regional Office of UNFPA and Census Offices of few countries where Population and Housing Census were recently conducted Office of the Census Commissioner strengthened with staff deputed from National Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Home & Cultural affairs (Administration & Demographic) and Land Commission Secretariat (Mapping-GIS)

PHCB 2005 Pre-census activities carried by the Office of the Census Commission Manuals and Questionnaire preparation House listing instruction manual Census mapping manual Questionnaire Supervisor’s manual Enumerator’s manual Data Processing and editing manual Census mapping and Listing EA mapping Household listing Field staff recruitment Supervisors Enumerators Training Ex-country In-Country

PHCB 2005 Methodology Essential features of UN recommendations incorporated Individual enumeration (De-facto, irrespective of nationality) Universality (Whole country covered) Simultaneity ( Completed in two days; 30 & 31 May 2005) Defined periodicity (Next PHCB scheduled for 1015)

PHCB 2005 Outputs of PHCB 2005 Publications Results of the Population & Housing Census of Bhutan 2005 Socio-Economic and Demographic Indicators 2005 National Population Projection Dzongkhag Population Projection Dzongkhag Level Population and Housing Census Indicator Maps of Bhutan 2005 Other Outputs Frame for rural and urban areas for conduct of other surveys EA Maps for rural and urban areas Data used for coming up with Small Area Estimation of Poverty with BLSS

Issues EA size Migration Module Mapping using GIS All structures within country mapped using GIS Effective and efficient usage of huge data available doubtful (data sharing and usage for purposes other than mapping did not happen till now) Next round, should all structures be mapped from scratch? District wise in and out migration rates were calculated but rural urban migration rates were not published due to missing elements/shortcomings in the questionnaire International migration was discounted due to few cases occurring but might have to be incorporated for 2015 Optimizing EA size to around 100 households per EA poses challenges. What is the optimum EA size for population census? In rural areas administrative boundaries restrict it while in urban areas, lack of distinct features for demarcation

Way forward Complete Census Cycle Use of New Technology New census date -Tablet -Pilot Census -Census enumeration -Post Enumeration Survey -1 July

Way forward A complete Census Cycle: – Pilot Census – Census Enumeration – PES

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