Importance Of A Population Census

[Somalia]

I call upon the new federal parliament to pass a law in regards to how a national census will be carried out as prescribed in the new constitution, I also call upon mudane president Xasan Sheikh Maxamuud to set up a fact finding committee which will act as a precursor to a permanent institution that will carry out a national census. A national census will allow full civic engagement. A census should be carried out immediately in all liberated areas to further inclusion, participation and harmony on the part of society.

 

The last credible census was carried out during the Italian trusteeship.

 

Demographic data are scanty and incomplete for Somalia, although two censuses have been

carried out during the prewar period. The first census carried out in 1975 was not published,

and only an analytical report based on the census results was brought out in 1984. A national

demographic survey was carried out in 1980-81, but the data were not processed, barring a few

hand-tabulations. Another census was carried out in 1985-86, and once again the census got

bogged down in doubts about its accuracy, and was not published. There are varying accounts

of the census count of population, one giving a figure of 5.8 million and another 8.5 million.

The only published set of demographic data comes from the 1980-81 POPLAB survey of three

regions – Banadir, Bay and Lower Shabelle – carried out in collaboration with the University of

North Carolina.

 

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:LWG0Zmv0oZEJ:www.somali-jna.org/downloads/ACFA9.pdf+&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgKpE0FI62yirWJlbGCOg9Oi1Z-Gb46aL-6-9-aqrhv4yZ3rytMP4gX51xwHA4xMxUXI59hHDfvITxFT9ftudeLmCnzdIuicJaHjc89OMwsgyiEPpz5f3gqwb87TyuPADt5FQ5d&sig=AHIEtbS-RAHptzm4F8SJrIAT393fxKo67w

Schedules

 

12. A law in terms of Article XX, prescribing rules for the national census.

 

- Constitution of Somalia

Every country needs basic information on its residents for purposes of planning, development and improvement of the residents' quality of life. Good planning is based on reliable, up-to-date, accurate and detailed information on the state of the society in the country. This information makes it possible to plan better services, improve the quality of life and solve existing problems. Statistical information, which serves as the basis for constructing planning forecasts, is essential for the democratic process since it enables the citizens to examine the decisions made by the government and local authorities, and decide whether they serve the public they are meant to help. For these reasons official statistics are collected and published in all countries, world-wide. Thus, for example, while planning a road system, the planners use information regarding the quantity of people and number of vehicles who are likely to use the road; for if not, the advantages of constructing the road may not justify its cost. Similarly, when planning a school system, there is a need for a forecast of the number of pupils who are likely to need schools, in order to ensure that they will be built in locations with an appropriate number of pupils.

[General Duke]

A great topic indeed. This should be a top priority.

[GaraadMon]

The two most important assets in securing the health and future of Somalis are an accurate population census and a land survey. No large scale health, education or civil infrastructure projects will be successful without them. Many have claimed control over large populations and swaths of land, yet they know nothing about either.