Sixth Population and Housing Census begins

The Sixth Population and Housing Census 2022 will begin using a digital process from today, and continue till June 21 across the country.

Officials carrying out the census will collect complete data on the overall population, its composition, workforce, density, housing, demarcation and other socio-economic indicators, which is vital for formulating proper economic and other policies.

Director General of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Mohammad Tajul Islam made the disclosure on Tuesday at a press conference held at the National Economic Council (NEC) conference room in the capital.

“Data collected on the census will help Bangladesh work towards achieving 10 indicators of the sustainable development goal (SDG).”

He said the census will be different from the previous ones as it will include, for the first time, the country’s Bangladeshi expatriates, as well as foreigners staying in Bangladesh. Besides, unique household identities will be provided for the first time.

Project Director Md Dilder Hossain said about 3.65 lakh enumerators and 63,548 supervisors will conduct the census at the field level, adding that around 9,000 zonal and IT officials will also work in the process.

He continued, “Under this census, using GIS (Geographic Information System) based digital map, the data of all households in the country will be collected simultaneously through Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) method with the help of tablet computers.”

“We will monitor the census activities from the BBS headquarters. Those who are unable to provide their information during the census week can contact the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) call centre for documenting their information.”

The project director also said enumerators will collect information on homeless people at midnights during the census.

Dilder further said, “Each household and its members will be included in the enumeration process on a certain reference date of the census. The national identity (NID) card information will be included as well.

“The preliminary report of the census will be published three months after completing the process. The BBS will then publish the final report. A total of 133 reports will be prepared through the population and housing census.”

The BBS last published a population census report in 2011 that estimated Bangladesh’s population at 14.98 crore. The total population is currently 16.8 crore, according to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2021.

The Population and Housing Census 2022 project is being implemented at a cost of Tk 1,575.68 crore, which will come from the government exchequer. The project will be completed by June 2024.