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KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 10
The Central Bureau of Statistics is all set to conduct the 12th National Census 2021 from Thursday. The authorities have completed all preparations for the project.
The national census, which is held every 10 years, will be conducted from November 11 to 25, with the aim of reaching every citizen's doorstep and not repeating a single person.
As many as 40,000 enumerators and 8,016 superintendents have been given rigorous training. They will start reaching each household from Thursday. The CBS has also claimed it has built up mechanisms from the federal level down to the ward level. A total of 87 district census offices have been set up in all 77 districts, with an additional 10 offices in the most populated districts. Similarly, 349 local level census offices have been established in the local governments.
The Central Bureau of Statistics is all set to conduct the 12th National Census 2021 from tomorrow. The authorities have completed all preparations for the project.
The national census, which is held every 10 years, will be conducted from November 11 to 25, with the aim of reaching every citizen's doorstep and not repeating a single person.
As many as 40,000 enumerators and 8,016 superintendents have been given rigorous training.
They will start reaching each household from tomorrow onwards. The CBS has also claimed it has built up mechanisms from the federal level down to the ward level. A total of 87 district census offices have been set up in all 77 districts, with an additional 10 offices in the most populated districts.
Similarly, 349 local level census offices have been established in the local governments as per requirements.
The census includes 80 questionnaires, with 25 questions related to listing of houses which have already been conducted about a month ago. So, each household will be asked a maximum of 55 questions which is projected to take 20 to 25 minutes, as per the CBS. The census will cover four major fields, including social, economic, geological, and physical infrastructure, while people's head count will be done on the basis of the principle of inclusion in various subjects such as ethnicity, language, religion, sex, social class, geology, disability, age, income and gender or gender minorities.
The government has added four new categories regarding the census of people with disability - haemophilia, autism, complete blindness, and deafness.
Two more ethnicities - Rana Tharu and Bhumihar - have been added to the census this time around with a total of 127 ethnic groups. Similarly, people of gender minorities group are also being counted as 'third gender' in this census for the first time.
The national census is taken as a lifeline to formulate national level planning, development projects and any other policies in any given field for the government and other stakeholders.
The preliminary results of the National Census, including total population of the country and their sex will be made public in three months. However, the CBS might require up to two years to disperse all data and issue a separate booklet for every topic. The CBS has claimed it is introducing a user-friendly website in a bid to facilitate the general public.
The authorities have estimated that there are around seven million households in the country with national population of 30 million people. They have also urged everyone to participate in the census and also warned that anyone trying to hinder the process could face up to two months in jail, or fine of Rs 200, or both.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 11, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
