The 2023 Census will be Nigeria's first Digital Census and will change how the Census is being conducted in Nigeria before now. This approach started with the demarcation of enumeration areas covering the entier territorial space of Nigeria using mobile handheld device and geograpic information systems (GIS) and satellite imageries to create the digital census maps. THe digital frame produced is a major tool for the planning of human and material resources for the Census. This determines the enumerators' assignment areas and forms a basis for distribution of materials during the Census. See Census Methodology
A population and Housing Census (PHC) is of great relevance to the economic, political and socio-cultural planning of a country. Reliable and detailed data on the size, structure, distribution and socio-economic and demographic characteristics of a country's population is required for policy intervention and monitoring of development goals. The 2023 census will be digital therefore increasing the acuracy of data. For the Census, electronic forms hosted in Personal Digital Assistant devices will be used to capture information on all buildings, household and persons in the EA.
For the 2023 PHC, the recruitment and training modalities will be a major deviation from the old order. A recuritment strategy is designed for an e-recruitment in collaboration with the relevant departments and particularly Public Affairs Department to give the recruitment a wide coverage at the grass root. Again, the training plan also leverages greatly on technology as training modalities adopted include virtual, self-learning and physical learning. Online trainings are scheduled to hold in phases and this has commenced in earnest.
The field operations for the next census will begin with the building and household listing as usual but digital maps will be fetched online as against carrying paper maps as of old, therefore making the entire process paperless. The output of the house numbering and household listing exercise undergoes validation by matching some key parameters including number of buildings, building uses among
The 2023 PHC adopts the UN standards and has set census right as the zero hour (12 midnight) of the first Census date. WHile for each household, the reference period is the time from the zero hour of the first Census day to the time a household is viited by an enumerator. The time of visitation by an enumerator must therefore be within the zero hour of the first census day to the mid-night of the last day assigned for census enumeration.
A household consists of a person or a group of persons living together under the same roof, sharing the same catering arrangement, recognizing themselves as a unit and acknowledges one adult member as the head. In the 2023 PHC, households are classified under three main categories including, Regular Households, Institutional (long or short stay), Floating/Transient. A new category introduced in the Diplomatic corps for the pecularities of their stay in the country
A careful consideration has been given to the identification of internally Displaced Persons (IDP), a new phenomenon in the social strata of the country. It is understood that each persons can be found in varying locations in the country under different circumstances. IDPs have been created as a type of residence in the 2023 Census Questionnaire to ensure that they are captured under their varying population classification. The Census Department from the pre-tests of the methodologies and instruments for the 2023 census have idnetified that IDPS can be within a Regular household setting, in an Institutional (Long stay) setting or in a Floating/Transient Population setting.
Sustainable data for the development of Nigeria is at the core of the census while keeping in mind the confidentiality that the Commission owes to the general public. The National Population Commission will destroy names of individuals immediately after analyzing the results. The exisitng practices and obligations of the National Population Commission will ensure that no information will be released in a way that would enable users of Census data to identify any individual or household. Thus, identifiable census information will never be released or shared with anyone
Consultations with data users and the public between 2016 and 2023 showed the value of continuing the topics from the 2006 Census with a number of adjustments and additions to the questions. The developement of the 2023 PHC questionnaire had allowed for data collected to be useful for planning with a careful consideration of the burden and time taken to fill the questionnaire by both the enumerator and the respondent. It is important for Census data to be comparable and compatible with previous Censuses and also with other data produced by other statistical agencies in Nigeria and the wider community.
The Census uses the current 2006 classifications where applicable but reviewed them to reflect changes in the Nigerian society. Where there were no 2006 classifications, Census-specific classifications have been developed and are reviewed prior to each test. The changes that have occured since 2011 are described below:
Other introductions or modifications to the questionnaire are:
Questions on birth Registration were introduced to identify people that have registered their births in the country and with which agency
Under Literacy, the options have been reframed to identify persons that can read or write with understanding, so also those that can only read but cannot write with understanding
Under nationality, a variable has been introduced, that is, Dual Nationality to identify people who are Nigerians and have another Nationality.
The title 'Persons living with disability' was replaced with 'Persons with difficulties in performing certain tasks' in line with the Washington D.C recommendations. Also, two variables, (Albinos and Speech) have been introduced into the questions.
On Economic Characteristics, the 2023 PHC questionnaire will reference 7 days from census night.
New variables have also been added to this section namely, engagement in work, reason for inactivity and employment status.
The Information Communication Technology section has been introduced into the individual persons section with the aim of soliciting answers to three variables - owned ICT devices, devices used to access internet, and usual place of Internet access.
Also, the Fertility and Mortality section was introduced into the persons section of the questionnaire because of the need for robust data to close gaps in development planning.
In the Housing and Amenities secion, more questions on sanitation has been introduced with variables covering Solid Waste Storage, Solid Waste Disposal, Number of Toilet Rooms, Waste Water Disposal, and Sharing of Toilet Facility which is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) which states that, by year 2030, Nigeria can achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defeacation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
