What
is population census
2. De jure Population Census: this is a type of population census which involves the counting of people who have been permanent residents of a given area. It does not matter whether the person is present or not.
Determinants of a good population census
IMPORTANCE OF POPULATION CENSUS
2. Population size: population census helps the government to know the total number of people in the country. This includes the age, sex, geographical and occupational distribution of the population
3. Economic planning development: the economic growth, planning and development of the country can easily be carried out through the use of figures obtained from population census
4. Employment generation and control: the number of employed people could easily be known by the government through population census and this makes it possible for the government to know the number of employment opportunities to generate and control
5. Provision of social amenities: government would be able to know the number of people in a particular area at a given time, and the provision of social amenities could be based on the population of that area
6. Income distribution: the national income of a country would be distributed equitable based on the knowledge of the population
7. Government revenue: through population census, the government will be able to know the number of taxable adults, and this will help in no small measure in the estimation of the expected revenue for a particular period of time
8. Education: the government would be able to plan an effective educational system for its country based on a good knowledge of the population of the country
9. Housing: government would be able to know whether the houses available are enough for the population
10. Transport: population census makes it possible for the government to know the types of transport facilities that are required for the country
11. Health: provision of effective health care system as a result of a working knowledge of the number of doctors and nurses available, the number of hospitals and health centre’s, and this can easily be ascertained through a good and accurate population census
12. Labour: the number of labour available at a particular time in an area can be determined through population census
13. Population density: the density of the population of the different areas of a country can easily be known. This will enable government to know the areas with large or small number of people.
Keypoints to remember on Importance of population census
Problems of population census
2. Illiteracy: This constitutes a major problem in getting a successful population census because most people in West Africa cannot read and write, neither do they understand the usefulness of census; hence they tend to furnish the enumerators with false and misleading information.
3. Religious beliefs: One of the greatest problems confronting population census in West Africa is religious beliefs. For instance, muslim women are forbidden by their belief to appear in the public. This makes it impossible for them to be physically counted by enumerators.
4. Problem of transportation: in some areas of West Africa, there are no motor-able roads and this makes it difficult for enumerators to reach out to everybody in those areas.
5. Poor regional planning: some towns or regions are poorly planned with houses scattered all over the place, some without numbers. This poses a lot of difficulties to enumerators in the discharge of their duties.
6. Lack of effective communication system: Good communication system is lacking in most West African countries and this makes it increasingly difficult to send or receive messages.
7. Tax evasion: some people would give false information in order to evade payment of tax as they erroneously associate population census as having to do with payment of taxes
8. Lack of trained personnel: in most cases the census exercise is carried out by untrained personnel which gives faulty result in the end
9. Cost: Population census is very expensive to conduct. This is one of the major problems facing developing countries of West Africa. As a result of their low financial muscles and enormous debt burden, they tend to record inaccurate results or even ignore/postpone the exercise to a perceived favourable period.
10. Geographical barriers: most river areas are inaccessible due to undeveloped navigational facilities; so also are the mountainous areas. These constitute problem to population census.
Population census is or may be defined
as a regular counting of the number of men, women, children, abled and disabled
people in a country by the government for the purpose of economic planning and
development.
Types of population
census
There are two types of population
census. These are:
1. De facto Population Census: this is a form of population census in which the enumerators
only count those who are physically present or can be identified during the
exercise
2. De jure Population Census: this is a type of population census which involves the counting of people who have been permanent residents of a given area. It does not matter whether the person is present or not.
Determinants of a good population census
1. It must be carried out at the same
time (simultaneously) in the whole country
2. It must be controlled by the
government of the country in which it is taking place
3. There must be a reasonable interval
between two population census
4. Physical counting must be done rather
than counting by proxy
5. People of integrity must be used for
the enumeration
IMPORTANCE OF POPULATION CENSUS
1. Population density: the density of the population of the
different areas of a country can easily be known. This will enable government
to know the areas with large or small number of people
2. Population size: population census helps the government to know the total number of people in the country. This includes the age, sex, geographical and occupational distribution of the population
3. Economic planning development: the economic growth, planning and development of the country can easily be carried out through the use of figures obtained from population census
4. Employment generation and control: the number of employed people could easily be known by the government through population census and this makes it possible for the government to know the number of employment opportunities to generate and control
5. Provision of social amenities: government would be able to know the number of people in a particular area at a given time, and the provision of social amenities could be based on the population of that area
6. Income distribution: the national income of a country would be distributed equitable based on the knowledge of the population
7. Government revenue: through population census, the government will be able to know the number of taxable adults, and this will help in no small measure in the estimation of the expected revenue for a particular period of time
8. Education: the government would be able to plan an effective educational system for its country based on a good knowledge of the population of the country
9. Housing: government would be able to know whether the houses available are enough for the population
10. Transport: population census makes it possible for the government to know the types of transport facilities that are required for the country
11. Health: provision of effective health care system as a result of a working knowledge of the number of doctors and nurses available, the number of hospitals and health centre’s, and this can easily be ascertained through a good and accurate population census
12. Labour: the number of labour available at a particular time in an area can be determined through population census
13. Population density: the density of the population of the different areas of a country can easily be known. This will enable government to know the areas with large or small number of people.
Keypoints to remember on Importance of population census
1. Population density
2. Population size
3. Economic planning development
4. Employment generation and control
5. Provision of social amenities
6. Income distribution
7. Government revenue
8. Education
9. Housing
10. Transport
11. Health
12. Labour
13. Population density
Problems of population census
1. Political problem: There could be political consideration in giving out incorrect census
figure in some areas in order to gain political advantage over other areas.
2. Illiteracy: This constitutes a major problem in getting a successful population census because most people in West Africa cannot read and write, neither do they understand the usefulness of census; hence they tend to furnish the enumerators with false and misleading information.
3. Religious beliefs: One of the greatest problems confronting population census in West Africa is religious beliefs. For instance, muslim women are forbidden by their belief to appear in the public. This makes it impossible for them to be physically counted by enumerators.
4. Problem of transportation: in some areas of West Africa, there are no motor-able roads and this makes it difficult for enumerators to reach out to everybody in those areas.
5. Poor regional planning: some towns or regions are poorly planned with houses scattered all over the place, some without numbers. This poses a lot of difficulties to enumerators in the discharge of their duties.
6. Lack of effective communication system: Good communication system is lacking in most West African countries and this makes it increasingly difficult to send or receive messages.
7. Tax evasion: some people would give false information in order to evade payment of tax as they erroneously associate population census as having to do with payment of taxes
8. Lack of trained personnel: in most cases the census exercise is carried out by untrained personnel which gives faulty result in the end
9. Cost: Population census is very expensive to conduct. This is one of the major problems facing developing countries of West Africa. As a result of their low financial muscles and enormous debt burden, they tend to record inaccurate results or even ignore/postpone the exercise to a perceived favourable period.
10. Geographical barriers: most river areas are inaccessible due to undeveloped navigational facilities; so also are the mountainous areas. These constitute problem to population census.
Keypoints to remember on Problems of
population census
1. Political problem
2. Illiteracy
3. Religious beliefs
4. Problem of transportation
5. Poor regional planning
6. Lack of effective communication
system
7. Tax evasion
8. Lack of trained personnel
9. Cost
10. Geographical barriers