Tanzanians get set for preliminary census results

AFTER successful implementation of the sixth National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) conducted between August 23 and 29, this year, preliminary results of the exercise are set to be unveiled today at Jamhuri Stadium in the capital city of Dodoma.

The results which will be announced today by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, will give a clear picture on allocation of resources for provision of social services such as health, water and education, depending on the number of people in respective localities.

It is through the data collected by census enumerators during the exercise that the government will be in a position to provide requisite social services for the citizenry.

During the 5th NPHC conducted in 2012, Tanzania had 44.9 million people and projections for this year stand close to 63 million people.

Speaking on Sunday during an occasion which was graced by President Samia to lay a foundation stone for Msalato International Airport, Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Ms Rosemary Senyamule, urged residents in the region to turn up en masse to witness the historic event.

“President Samia is going to make history tomorrow (today) by announcing preliminary results of the population and housing census.  We are ready to the occasion and I urge you to turn up in big numbers,” the RC urged the residents.

According to the National Census Commissioner, Ms Anne Makinda, the 6th NPHC recorded tremendous success, with 99.99 per cent of occupants in households enumerated when the exercise was concluded.

The retired Speaker of the National Assembly told journalists in September, this year, that at least 99.87 per cent of housing structures were recorded and being verified through the postcode.

“The counting exercise has been closed and President Samia will announce the initial results in October,” Ms Makinda then told journalists in Dodoma.

She said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is currently working on the third phase of the exercise by engaging stakeholders’ views and recommendations to come up with guidelines on how to disseminate vast amounts of data and its usage.

“We will also have to ensure that the census results are being used by decision making organs both local and international when planning on development aspects,” Ms Makinda explained.

She paid special tribute to the census clerks and their supervisors, who were deployed countrywide for the job well done.

NBS through Statistician General, Dr Albina Chuwa said out of the 200,005 tablets that were distributed to conduct the exercise countrywide, only 0.07 per cent were either damaged or stolen.

Dr Chuwa said, statistically, no country in Africa can attain 100 per cent of counting success in any census as there are certain members in the community, who would dodge, representing an insignificant 0.01 per cent.

Dr Chuwa said the Parliament approved 400bn/- for the census in its 2022/23 financial year budget, equivalent to an average of 6, 265/- per person.

Every ten years, Tanzania holds a PHC. The 2022 census is the sixth in a series that began in 1964. Other censuses were conducted in 1967, 1978, 1988, 2002, and 2012.

During the last PHC which was conducted in the year 2012, Tanzania had a population of 44.9 million people, up from 12.3 million people, who were recorded during the first census which was conducted in 1967.

The figure for 2012 included 43.6 million people in Tanzania Mainland and 1.3 million people in Zanzibar.

Projections by NBS in 2017 showed the number had climbed to 51.6 million people out of whom 25.1 million people were men, while 26.5 million people were women.

With an annual population growth rate of 2.92 per cent, based on PHC 2012 projections, the population of Tanzania is expected to reach over 63 million people this year.

During the second PHC which was conducted in the year 1978, the population stood at 17.5 million people with an average annual growth rate of 3.25 per cent for both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, according to data availed by NBS.

In the third PHC which took place in 1988, the population grew to 23.095 million people at an average annual growth rate of 2.81 per cent. The number of Tanzanians grew to 34.6 million people as of 2002.

Projections by NBS show that Tanzania’s population growth rate will decrease from 3.1 per cent in 2013 to 2.8 per cent in 2035.

However, even with the decrease in annual growth rate, the population of Tanzania is set to increase from 45 million, which was projected in 2013 to 86.8 million people by 2035.

According to data by the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), this year’s PHC was to cover 4,263 streets and 12,319 villages in addition to 3,956 wards and 64,384 hamlets across the country.

More than just a head count, the census provides a snapshot of Tanzania – people living in the country by age, sex and geographic location – as well as other key socioeconomic characteristics.

The census remains the primary source of data for the government – both at the national and local level – that informs development policies, plans and programmes and determines resource allocation.

The data collected also plays a prominent role in providing the demographic surveillance necessary for monitoring and evaluating the Sustainable Development Goals, which place the highest priority on leaving no one behind and serving the furthest behind first.