When Nepal conducted its first census in 1911, the country’s population was barely 5.6 million. The 2001 census put the population at 22 million, and the last census in 2011 had shown it to be 26.6 million. Next year’s count will likely total Nepal’s population to have crossed 30 million.
Nearly 110 years ago, when Prime Minister Chandra Shumshere Rana ordered the census, the intention was primarily to find out how many able-bodied men there were who could be conscripted into the military, or offered to the British Army’s Gurkha brigades.
The 2021 census, the first under a federal system, will try to find out how many of the estimated 7 million households in the country today have family members working abroad, gauge their living standard, and probe local conditions.
The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) is hoping that the Covid-19 crisis will have subsided enough for 43,000 enumerators to fan out across the country from 8-22 June, 2021 interviewing every household and digitally count not just the number of Nepalis, but also find out their socio-economic status.
“We conducted a pilot census this year during the pandemic, and we know what to expect. Even under present conditions we will be able conduct a complete census, observing all necessary precautions,” said Nebin Lal Shrestha of the CBS, speaking at a webinar organised by the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal on Monday.
With 210 days to go, the countdown has begun. The Bureau has a packed timetable of training events, setting up census offices in all provinces, districts and local municipalities. Unlike in past census, when teachers were deployed as data collectors, this time the CBS put out vacancy notices to select them.
The national census has been held every 10 years, and for the first time this year’s survey will also provide accurate statistics on household property, livestock, profession, migration, income, skilled human resources, access to banking services, health and education status.