Angola promises first real census in over 35 years by 2010

Luanda, 13 December 2006 – After almost three decades of civil strife, Angola is to hold its first complete census within the next four years in a bid to improve policy making and track progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Speaking in connection with African Statistics Day, the country's Planning Minister Ana Dias Lourenco noted that improving statistics compilation, analysis and dissemination was a priority for her government.

“Without accurate statistics, we cannot make sound policies that will benefit people,” she said.

Accurate data are essential for monitoring progress towards the MDGs, and analysts note that this constitutes a critical development concern which should be tackled by the development community at large.

Celebrations marking African Statistics Day were held earlier this month in the Angolan capital Luanda, and attracted top statisticians from the seven Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries: Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Lourenço listed current accounts, poverty mapping, and the population and housing census as the three priority areas for investment in the area of statistics.

She said reliable statistics on public and private sector spending and its results would give the country a boost in attracting foreign direct investment and in determining development priorities.

The issue of statistics is particularly relevant to countries like Angola, emerging from almost 30 years of war, where there has been no complete census since the colonial period.

“Our last real census was undertaken in 1970,” said Lourenço. “But even then, the population count was not accurate, as most locals failed to cooperate with the count, for fear that numbers would be used by the colonial administration's secret police to round up people.”

Based on a partial 1983 census, and taking into account inaccuracies posed by large numbers of internally displaced persons as well as returning refugee populations, Angola has an estimated 14.5 million inhabitants, with at least five million living in the country's capital.

One of the greatest challenges facing statistics development on the continent is providing a legal framework within which to undertake statistical activities. This is particularly relevant with regard to respecting the privacy of individuals and companies in data collection.