Census by cycle in Mozambique
29 February 2008
In August of last year, Mozambique conducted its first national census in a
decade. This was an opportunity to not only count the population, but find
out more about living conditions and access to essentials such as water,
roads and education.
Carrying out a census is a huge organisational feat, especially for a developing country like Mozambique. DFID funding ensured that this golden opportunity was not a wasted one. An army of data-collectors was trained, issued with maps and forms, and, to keep costs low, equipped with bicycles. In the event, the census owed much of its success to old-fashioned pedal power!
Mapping the nation
Journeying by bike or on foot, the 60,000 data-collectors visited every household in Mozambique. This in itself would have been impossible without detailed and up-to-date maps of every region of this large country.
For two years beforehand, 148 cartographers worked to guarantee that the country's size, and poor road and transport systems, wouldn't get in the way of a comprehensive census. Thanks to DFID support, this huge and critical operation was completed on time.
Gathering data, dispensing advice
As well as being an exercise in fact-finding, there was also the chance to put out key messages. In a country where over 16% of people are HIV positive, the Government of Mozambique wanted to seize this opportunity to reach the widest possible audience.
HIV and AIDS training enabled census-workers to talk to members of the public about prevention. In between distributing forms, they even demonstrated how to use the condoms that came supplied in their work kits.
No mean feat
To make things run smoothly, the nation's media was also
brought on board. Newspaper
campaigns, and radio and television broadcasts (delivered in six languages),
built awareness throughout the country of August's big push. This way,
Mozambique's people were ready when the knock on the door came.
Ensuring that the census went to plan was a sizeable challenge. As DFID’s chief statistician, Siobhan Carey, says:
"Just imagine recruiting 60,000 people, organising and training them in the build-up, printing 8 million census forms and making sure everything is where it's needed on the day. Never mind problems such as where you store 40,000 bicycles, and how you send them out to the data-collectors!"
However, in the end, the data-collectors showed their intrepid colours, and the key facts on Mozambique were got down on paper.
So, what did the census discover?
Preliminary results from the census estimate Mozambique's population at 20.5 million, with 60% of people under the age of 25, and women slightly outnumbering men (the gender balance is 52% to 48%). Forty per cent of Mozambique's people live in the northern provinces of Nampula and Zambézia, and agriculture continues to be the principal subsistence activity.
Although the national population has grown by about 28% since 1997, the capital city Maputo has lost people in recent years, mainly to the new residential areas of Matola, Boane and Marracuene.
Keeping count
The
population growth identified by the census has big implications for the
Mozambican Government and its development partners. More schools, health
services and basic facilities will have to be built to satisfy demand.
Following the census, further surveys have also been planned. The National Statistics Institute recently agreed a new five-year
plan which will see it carry out a series of surveys from 2008 to 2012,
including one that looks closely at the make-up of the nation's households and another focussing on the
country's labour force. As Mozambique moves towards 2015 - the target year for
reaching the Millennium Development Goals - keeping count will remain crucial.
Key facts
- Most developing countries could not afford to run a census without foreign aid. The total budget for the census amounted to $39 million, to which the Government of Mozambique contributed $4 million.
- DFID contributed $4 million, making it the largest bilateral donor, and the third largest donor after the European Commission and the World Bank.
