Abstract

In its recommendations regarding implementation of the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme, the 53rd session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) encouraged national statistical authorities to consider the establishment of national statistical population registers on the basis of the census master file produced in the 2020 round of censuses in full compliance with the provisions of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. This recommendation strongly affirms the role of registers and administrative data systems in the National Statistical System and provides an opportunity to highlight the advantages these data sources pose compared to the traditional survey methods. The recommendation implicitly encourages countries to establish administrative population registers as these are needed for the regular updating of statistical population registers.

Though CRVS systems in Africa, have performed dismally for many years, the last decade has witnessed significant changes in the attention given (by governments and development partners) towards development of these systems. Among the notable developments has been establishment and implementation of the Africa programme for accelerated improvement of civil registration and vital statistics (APAI-CRVS) . Have these efforts yielded the desired progress? Have CRVS systems in African countries achieved an adequate threshold to be relied upon as official sources of demographic data statistics? If so to what extent are National Statistics offices on the continent relying on data from these registers to produce demographic statistics? Could now be the time for a shift in cultural practice to allow the testing of these data sources as the official sources of demographic data vis a vis the traditional survey sources?

Similar to CRVS systems, questions about the existence and adequacy of administrative and statistical population registers on the African continent and their potential for use as sources of official of statistics remain pertinent and should be explored. Over the last decade, numerous African countries have embarked on initiatives to establish population registers and national identification systems, in a broader effort to streamline public service delivery. Preliminary findings of an ongoing survey conducted by UNECA beginning November 2021 indicate that at least 15 and 1 African country have in place an administrative and statistical population register respectively, though the status and quality of these registers remains largely unknown. With potential improvements in the quality of CRVS systems over the last few years, it is worthwhile for National Statistical offices to invest in understanding the extent of development of such registers and where possible to support their development including exploring their potential use for statistical purposes. Furthermore, though the recommendation of the 53RD UNSC encouraging establishing of statistical population registers may sound distant for most African countries, preparatory arrangements for such a future are worthwhile.