A high alert during the entire process of data collection under the census is of paramount importance to ensure the quality and reliability of its outcome. The results need to be acceptable by different stakeholders ethnically, culturally, religiously and geographically, with clarity of identity of each segment of society as a fundamental right
The 12th Census of Nepal, which is currently underway, is taking place at a time when the country is facing political instability due to the incapable leaders who have ruled the country since the past few years. Hopefully, the Population Census of 2021 will witness free conduct from political influence, motivated by vested interest on the part of the respondents, without any bias on ethnic identity, religion and demographic culture and be cooperative in answering the questions from the prescribed questionnaire of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). This will produce the real picture of the nation's populace and their way of living.
A population census is a systematic collection of national data on the population of a particular time.
Hence, the outcome of the census reflects an account of a given country's population at the time of the census.
Most countries have been taking periodic censuses once a decade from the 18th century onwards.
The history of Nepal's census is a century-anda-decade old, as it was first conducted in 1911 during the premiership of Chandra Shumsher Rana. Since that time onwards, conducting the census has been a once-in-a-decade event, involving a sizable amount of budget from the state treasury and mobilisation of human resources.
The government is conducting the 12th National Census from November 11 till 25 this year, which should have been conducted in June but got postponed due to COVID-19.
The outcome of this on-going census is eagerly awaited by the planners and policy makers for setting goals and allocating resources for sectoral and multi-sectoral development, while keeping socio-cultural sensitiveness in mind. For the political parties they will undoubtedly view it from a voters' perspective.
The result of the census also draws attention of different segments of society in terms of ethnic identity, cultural practice and religious faith. This obviously demands responsible answer from the respondents and courtesy of those asking the questions.
The first census of Nepal taken in 1911, which put its total population at 5,638,749, was conducted 90 years after Great Britain for the first time had done it in 1801. The purpose of then Nepal's Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher in taking Nepal's first census was to find out the country's population while simultaneously knowing about the number of young Nepalis capable of joining Nepal's military service, part of which could be sent to assist the British government for a possible great war.
Eventually, First World War broke out in 1914 and continued till 1918, in which contingents of the Gorkha-Nepal Army were deployed in different war zones, ultimately leading to the victory of the United Kingdom with assistance of the then Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal.
The second and third censuses of Nepal, conducted in 1920 and 1930, revealed the country's population to be 5,573,788 and 5,532,572 respectively, displaying a downward curb from the first one, which was unexpected and viewed as an unnatural phenomenon.
Two possible causes were attributed by the demographers and economists for such a decrease instead of an increase. That the large number of casualties of Nepali soldiers during the World War First negatively contributed in the reduction of the population in the 1920 census and likewise the yellow fever for a similar reduced population in the 1930 census were cited as the causes behind the decrease.
Later on, it was also found that both the censuses of 1920 and 1930 were conducted in the mid-rainy season that could have led to undercounting.
From the fourth census of 1941 that placed the total population at 6,283,649, the country's population has been continuously embracing an upward trend, currently estimated at 30 million.
Nepal's census is somehow similar to the case of the United Kingdom's census wherein the censuses taken from 1841 onwards, after the establishment of the Registrar Office, have all been considered scientific ones, surpassing the previous three censuses, though the first one was taken in 1801. Nepal's censuses of 1911, 1920 and 1930 were based on head counting while those from 1941 are based on scientific methods.
Likewise Britain's census of 1801, 1820 and 1841 were conducted on head counting methods while the 1841 census embraced a modern method of data collection.
A high alert during the entire process of data collection under the census is of paramount importance to ensure the quality and reliability of its outcome.
The results need to be acceptable by different stakeholders ethnically, culturally, religiously and geographically, with clarity of identity of each segment of society as a fundamental right.
Multilateral and bilateral donors that are working as partners of Nepal's progress also have eyes on the results of the census.
Amongst the multilateral donors, the UNFPA-UNDP and on the bilateral front, USAID, have been showing special interest in almost all censuses of Nepal, among others.
The UNFPA has been a major donor to Nepal's population programme in the fields of family planning/reproductive health, maternity and child health.
It had assigned Dr Yagya Bahadur Karki to review the methodologies applied in the census of 1991.
After Dr Karki presented his findings at a meeting of the Population Division of the National Planning Commission, attended by representatives of almost all Nepal-based bilateral and multilateral donors and chaired by its Vice Chairman Dr Ram Saran Mahat, some representatives said the census result that put the growth rate at 2.08 as against 2.66 in the previous one was under counted. Dr Mahat, however, came to the rescue to defend the outcome.
Looking at the brighter side of the coin, the 2021 Census of Nepal will be free of flaws.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 16, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
