Preparations for census intensified, number of transgenders to also be published

KATHMANDU: The government is conducting the 12th census of Nepal from 7th to 22nd June 2021. The census that will take place after the implementation of federalism in the country will be done in a federal model.

The census is being conducted according to the new structure after the structure including development regions, zones and VDCs was scrapped. Now, the census will be conducted according to the structure of 7 states, 77 districts, 753 local and 6742 ward offices. 

What are the preparations? 

Hemraj Regmi, Deputy Director General of the department, informed Nepal Press that necessary preparations for the 12th census are in their final stage.

“The master trainers have been trained. The work of imparting training has started since 3rd March by appointing enumerators and assistant officers. After opening offices of the department in 87 places of 77 districts, enumerators and assistant officers will be sent there. Applications have been opened for the appointment of enumerators and supervisors. So far, more than 77,000 applications have been received. We will start selecting enumerators and supervisors from the last week of April, and we will appoint them in April and May,” he said.

Last year, the government had allocated Rs 362.7 Million for the preparations for the census. Through the said budget, the Central Statistics Department had conducted sample census in different districts. 

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance has already disbursed Rs 2.5 billion for the budget of Rs 4 billion for the collection, processing, analysis and publication of the census. The Department says that this budget will not be insufficient and the Finance Ministry has committed to release the budget on time.

So far, training has been imparted to master trainers related to the census. 100 census officers and 100 assistant census officers are being trained, the Department said.

According to the Department, trained census officers and assistant officers will go to the branches to be opened by 87 departments in all 77 districts from 14th March to prepare for the census.

All enumerators and assistant enumerators who will be posted in the open departments across the country will be government employees. According to the Department, a week-long training is being conducted from 3rd March, with preparations to deploy some staff. 

All the materials required for the calculation have been procured. Similarly, the Department has demanded temporary staff for enumerators and supervisors required for data collection.

In the past, school teachers were appointed as temporary staff for the 12th census. So far, 77000 applications have been submitted and the Department is preparing to start their selection from the end of April. The Department has stated that the supervisors will be selected in April and enumerators in May.

Unconventional calculation 

As the census will be conducted in the model of federalism, the materials required have been prepared for the state and local levels while those used in the previous census used to be prepared only for the districts. 

As the materials required for data collection have been prepared for the state, local level and ward level, it will be collected in a way that the central, state, local level and ward offices can use it.

Method of calculation 

The method of basic calculation is determined on the basis of permanent and temporary residence. The Department has stated that even if a person lives in two places, it will be calculated based on the area in which they mainly reside.

The data of Nepalis living abroad will be collected from their families in Nepal and if the entire family is abroad, such persons may be missed, according to the Department. In addition, statistics of all castes, religions, languages, genders, ages and people with disabilities in the country will be collected, said the Department. 

Transgenders were also included in the census in the past, but in the 12th census, this data will also be published, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. This will be the first census to publish this data.

The Central Statistics Office has informed that the rules, regulations and questionnaires required for the census have been prepared. The Department has also prepared the necessary work, duties and rights for supervisors and enumerators.

History of Census 

The first census of Nepal was conducted in 1968 BS. Then, the census was conducted in 2009 BS. According to the census published in 2011, the population of Nepal is 8 million, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The first and second censuses were compiled to enlist the then owners and slaves (including Bandha). The 1998 census was conducted only to count the population. The census from 2009 to 2011 is considered as a modern census, where people from distinct backgrounds and identities were counted separately.

After the establishment of the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2015 BS, systematic and organized census is being conducted. According to the statistics of the Department, the government has been formulating short-term and long-term policies and programs.

The Department collects data on the total population of the country, population growth rate, birth rate, death rate, migration, economic status of citizens, foreigners or those who have come and settled in Nepal from abroad, religion, caste, gender, language etc. in the census.

According to the last census conducted in Nepal in 2068 BS, the population of Nepal is more than 26.5 million. 

The Department had unveiled the logo and slogan ‘My Census, My Participation’ for the 12th census on 20th October 2019.