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Nepal in Numbers
- The 2011 Census will have to ensure the veracity of the information that it provides
MAY 21 -
The last that I heard, Nepal was the 40th most populous nation in the world. Iraq lies right above us with 1.5 million more than our 29 million Nepali souls. While both nations are recovering from a war, the Iraqi death count due to the American occupation, based on who you believe, ranges from a 100,000 to over 500,000. This dwarfs the over 15,000 casualties of Nepal’s decade-long civil war. However, these are not just numbers to be compared but digits you must take in an individual light. Each figure is a life ended and a family devastated due to the pride and ignorance of another.
In an attempt to recover from its war-torn past, Nepal will unfurl its tourism banner next year and hope that it lures back the tourists it lost due to the conflict. While the Tourism Board keeps its fingers crossed and hopes that its target of a million tourists is met, another government department will also be doing some arithmetic of its own. The Central Bureau of Statistics will be celebrating 100 years of conducting censuses in Nepal, and will carry out the 11th national census in 2011. This could potentially form the basis for encouraging our government to realise that decisions can be based on rationality and evidence. Maybe then, the brains of the nation, rather than its guts, will start governing.
Nepal’s first census was held in 1911 by the Rana-jis who wanted to know how many plebs they had. This headcount was particularly handy at a time when the Ranas sold off Nepali soldiers to the British during the two World Wars. It wasn’t until the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) was established in 1959 that the weight of science and reason was utilised in conducting Nepal’s first census.
The idea of a census is simple enough—it is a systematic way of getting and recording information on a specific population. Information is power and two questions immediately arise: Who needs to know? Why do they need to know?
To answer both these questions, the census should give the grand strategists of our haphazardly-growing nation the required data to make informed decisions. Surprisingly, this is a trend that has been around for a while. Our old constitution had a provision to define the number of seats in parliament based on the number of people living in an area. If my predictions are correct, the upcoming census will reveal quite a bit more. The level of interest and uproar it will draw will signal the gradual development of an evidence-based rational culture within Nepal. Technically, it should impact every facet of the government’s lethargic apparatus. For instance, the budget must respond to its findings; healthcare provisions must adjust to the new demographics; and the economy must adjust to a new reality. For such responsiveness, the census must meet the localised informative needs of institutions and people.
The prerequisite to any census is obvious—an accurate and reliable counting process. If these basic premises are not met, then the integrity of our governmental institutes is brought into question. The problem then stretches beyond the bureau responsible for compiling the information to every branch of the government and development sector that presumably acts upon this information. Verification will be a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare, and it is best to ensure the bureau has the resources to carry out its task effectively.
Given the importance of these numbers and the transitional status of the country, this census must capture an accurate picture of the newer and more inclusive nation. For instance: disaggregated data in relation to disability must be included, Nepalis without citizenship certificates have to be included, and those who have left seeking greener pastures must also be included. If anyone is missed or “excluded”, expect uproar, strikes and the likes. These numbers proclaim existence.
Numbers in Nepal have always been viewed as a tool, not a truth in themselves. For rationality to develop, the value of abstract truths that lie in numbers is perhaps the first step. It is not in words that data is mined.
It is in numbers. To be able to use them with integrity means using it, not just as tools for humanity, but as holders of truth in themselves. Without this, they are just a part of the rhetoric and sophistry that dominates Nepal’s political landscape. Going back to my original comparison, with roughly the same population growth rate and a conflict to boot, the numbers might reveal the damages of war for Iraq and the opportunities for Nepal. Expect to see Nepal moving up the population ladder.
Posted on: 2010-05-22 09:11
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