Tashkent city, 31 May 2019 –The State Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Population Fund in Uzbekistan (UNFPA) convened the round table devoted to the upcoming 2022 population census in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The aim of the round-table was to present the census plan, inform the national and international partners of the preparatory work done so far, highlight areas where support will be needed in the coming months and years ahead to solicit development partners.
Key Government institutions, ministries, Parliament, international partners, academia, NGOs and media representatives gathered today at “Miran” hotel of Tashkent city to get familiar with the plan of population census which is scheduled for 2022 in the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as partnerships needed to implement census plan effectively. The last population census was conducted 30 years ago in 1989, and the Population Census in 2022 will be the first one after the Independence.
The United Nations recommends that all countries or areas of the world produce detailed population and housing statistics at least once in the period of 2015-2024, around year 2020. And Uzbekistan will join 227 countries and territories undertaking census in this round. Some of those countries and territories already conducted censuses in 2015 and afterwards, and others will do in the coming years until the last ones in 2024.
The proportion of enumerated population covered in this round is expected to reach a historic milestone of 97.5% of the total world population. This is up from 93% achieved in 2010. So we can proudly say that the world is making big progress in counting and accounting for every person on the planet, and Uzbekistan will be part of this global effort.
Aside from the answer to the question “How many are we?”, census data also provides an answer to “Who are we?” in terms of age, sex, education, labor force status, occupation and other crucial characteristics, as well as to “Where do we live?” in terms of housing, availability of essential facilities.
Therefore, census provides the facts essential for policy-making, planning and administration. It can uncover inequalities in employment, education and wealth, and therefore give direction to policy decisions with more equitable distribution of public funds for things like educational programs, healthcare, law enforcement and infrastructure development to overcome those inequalities and ensure sustainable development for all.
After the Decree of the President with the Concept of the Census was issued on 5 February 2019 UNFPA supported the State Committee on Statistics to fulfill some of the following tasks as outlined in the Decree:
• On 25 Feb - 1 March UNFPA conducted capacity assessment of Goscomstat based on US Census Bureau methodology to identify gaps and propose set of measures to address them;
• Mr. Ian White – one of the most well-known international experts on census was invited to provide inputs to the draft Law on Census in March 2019;
• Ms. Sherbakova (former chief of Rosstat census department) was invited to Tashkent for 2 weeks (8-19 Apr) to help Goscomstat to prepare census plan. She also helped Goscomstat to put together the list of cost items for census budget.
UNFPA invited the following experts for participation in today’s round table: Ms. Irina Zbarskaya, Head of the Department of Social and Demographic Statistics of the CIS Statistical Committee, Ms. Galina Sherbakova, UNFPA international expert and Ms. Gulnara Kadyrkulova, Program specialist on population and development from UNFPA Sub-regional office. They talked about importance of conducting censuses and international experience in conducting population censuses in the CIS and Eastern Europe countries, preparation of the census plan, organizational support for the preparation as well as about UNFPA support to population censuses in the region.
Mr. Bekhzod Shodiev, Head of the Department for Demography and Labor Market of the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan presented the current status and plans for the preparation and organization of the population census in Uzbekistan.
During the round table it was agreed to establish coordination group on census with participation of key government and development partners to regularly meet and coordinate the work on census preparation.
UNFPA aims to make sure no country fails to carry out a census because of financial or technical constraints. UNFPA provides technical support during all stages of a national census, and helps ensure the data are widely utilized and disseminated for development.
