Pakistan launched its first-ever digital population and housing census on Wednesday in an effort to securely gather demographic data on every individual ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections, officials said. The digital count will provide data for policy decisions, which now are based on the 2017 census that counted the population at 207 million people. It’s also meant to beef up security and avoid another morass like the one that beset the 2021 census. The results of that count, which was done manually, were never announced over complaints about errors and exclusion. The results of the digital census will be announced next month, according to Pakistan’s Bureau of Statistics, which is conducting the census amid tight security. On Wednesday, census workers fanned out across Pakistan to collect the data. In addition to policy decisions on such matters as education and health, the information also will be used for the next parliamentary elections. For the first time, census workers will count transgender people, who are largely neglected in this impoverished Islamic nation. According to human rights groups, there are around 10,000 trans people living in Pakistan.  

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has selected telecom operator Robi as the digital connectivity provider to deliver the country's first digital census data. The BBS will conduct the sixth population and housing census digitally from 15-21 June this year. Md Dilder Hossain, project director of National Population and Housing Census 2022, and Adil Hossain Noble, chief enterprise business officer of Robi, signed an agreement Sunday. Read Rising inflation hurts rural people more than their urban counterparts: BBS Under the deal, Robi will provide around 4 lakh connections, data, SMS bundles and other digital solutions to the BBS to support the digital census.  Around 3.7 lakh enumerators will collect the population census data from across the country using Robi's network and send them to a central server for processing.  Data will be collected from each household using a computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) system, geographic information system, and tablet computers with data connectivity. READ: Robi launches iftar distribution programme for underprivileged children outside Dhaka Robi will also support the BBS's zonal operations and preparedness training. Besides data connectivity, SMS, location tracking, and e-CRM for monitoring call centre support will be used for a smooth census operation. Dr Shahnaz Arefin, secretary at the Statistics and Informatics Division, said: "Accuracy of census data is extremely important to decide on policy measures that support the country's socio-economic growth." "In this connection, we found Robi the most suitable partner to provide digital connectivity support for the first digital census of the country." Read Household incomes fell by 20pc due to Covid-19: BBS survey M Riyaaz Rasheed, acting CEO and CFO of Robi, said: "Robi is proud to be associated with the first digital population census of the country. We look forward to supporting this high priority national project with our innovative digital solution."