The Challenges and Prospects of Conducting Population Census in Nigeria

Data on the population size, components, distribution, and trends in the process of population change are essential for development planning in the short and long term. Population census is a crucial source of comprehensive and reliable population data, particularly in less developed countries with no or inefficient vital registration systems, population registers, and administrative records. Unlike African countries such as Kenya and post-apartheid South Africa where census has been conducted regularly, population census in Nigeria has been irregular and controversial since the colonial era. Nigeria is Africa's most populous country with an estimated population of 222 million and the largest economy in the continent. To harness the dividends of the country's large youth population and vast natural resources for sustainable development, planning and projecting with reliable data that census provides is imperative. This ongoing research explores the barriers and prospects of efficient census in Nigeria using document analysis and a phenomenological approach. Selected key actors in census planning and administration and national planning are interviewed. The interview fields questions on the meaning associated with census, processes, engagement of technical partners, funding, challenges, and prospects, among others. The final sample size will be determined by data saturation. The preliminary results indicate the existence of challenges that revolve around the politics of control of the process and outcomes, and the increasing number of inaccessible areas due to the activities of bandits and terrorists. Despite these challenges, the government and development partners who support census in Nigeria have demonstrated commitments to conducting a census since after the last census in 2006 through funding, recruitment, and training of essential technical staff, and acquisition of advanced tools for enumeration. The implications of the identified barriers and prospects are discussed.