WINDHOEK, Namibia  ̶  The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), in partnership with the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting with the diplomatic corps and development partners on the upcoming census on 14 June 2023.

Namibia, as a member state of the United Nations (UN), recognises the importance of the Population and Housing Census for national planning and evidence-based decision-making and has mandated the NSA to conduct a PHC every 10 years. 

The 2023 PHC is scheduled to take place from 25 September to October 2023, after two postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The stakeholders' engagement meeting allowed participants to exchange ideas, share best practices, and brainstorm ways for partners to support the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Achieving development goals

Speaking at the event, Salomo Hei, the Chairperson of the NSA, stated that the upcoming 2023 Census will significantly improve the ability to monitor progress towards the attainment of national development plans and the Sustainable Development Goals.

 “The data collected will provide a solid foundation for businesses, organisations, researchers, and investors to make informed decisions that will contribute to the growth and prosperity of Namibia. It will enable us to identify emerging trends, leverage untapped opportunities, and foster innovation in various sectors, such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and agriculture,” he said.

“It will provide us with accurate baselines, benchmarks and indicators to assess our progress and identify areas where additional support is required. This data-driven approach will ensure that our efforts are targeted, effective, and aligned with the priorities of both Namibia and our esteemed partners,” he said further.

Ensuring data quality and integrity

In his welcoming remarks, Alex Shimuafeni, the Statistician-General and CEO, reiterated that the NSA would persist in its effort to deliver accurate data. “I am deeply committed to upholding the highest standards of statistical integrity, ensuring the confidentiality of data, and promoting transparency in the dissemination of census results.

"Our collective efforts will not only produce accurate and reliable data but also foster trust in our statistical systems, enabling stakeholders and decision-makers to make well-informed choices for the betterment of our societies,” he stressed.

He said that although the agency is going to use digital platforms with computers and tablets during the census, the information to be collected is still confidential and cannot be revealed to third parties.

“We will adhere to the Acts of the NSA to ensure that we do not contradict the rules of the Act in terms of confidentiality and intelligence of the data,” he reiterated.

Pivotal time

Delivering remarks on behalf of the UN, Gift Malunga, the UNFPA Representative, said the census is taking place at a crucial moment when there is an increased demand for all countries to enhance their data and statistical capacities.

“As the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, timely, open, disaggregated, and high-quality data are more important than ever. A growing number of countries have started modernising and enhancing their statistical systems,” she stated, adding: “I am excited to see the NSA embarking to conduct the first-ever digital census using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI). This will substantially improve the quality and transparency of the data collected, shorten the time for data processing, and provide early dissemination of census results.”

UNFPA is grateful for the opportunity to fulfil a key pillar of its mandate – to support Namibia in ensuring the production of quality statistics by conducting a regular census. This is done through strengthening its technical capacities and mobilising resources. To this end, UNFPA provided support in ensuring the availability of the 13,000 tablets to be used during census enumeration. Furthermore, UNFPA strengthened the capacity of NSA staff and provided technical support for post-enumeration analysis through census advisors.