Sixth population census in June

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is going to hold the Population and Housing Census in June this year.

After a long stalemate, the BBS will conduct the household and people-to-people data collection between June 15 and 21 of this calendar year, Population and Housing Census 2021 Project Director Dildar Hossain said.

The Population and Housing Census was supposed to be completed last year (2021).

Following the coronavirus impact, BBS planned to conduct the census in January last year which was later shifted to October.

However, the revised schedule was missed again due to the authorities' failure to complete the project preparations and start implementation in time.

Insiders said, the delay occurred as procurement of some 400,000 tablet PCs or notepad procurement works were delayed for different complexities.

Since Bangladesh's first population census in 1974, the BBS has all along been carrying out this flagship census once in each decade - the second one was done in 1981, followed by three more in 1991, 2001, and 2011.

But for the first time the BBS is unlikely to conduct the census within a decade from the last census.

BBS PD Mr Dildar said they would start data collection through the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system using the GIS-based digital mapping.

He said the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to give a speech before the nation on June 14 on the occasion of the Population and Housing census 2022.

The BBS has already taken up a Tk 15.78 billion project for completing the Population Census works.

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