6th Population and Housing Census next year

The sixth Population and Housing Census (PHC) will be conducted across the country on 2-8 January in 2021 to find out demographic and socio-economic facts to be used for the next course of the country's development planning, reports UNB.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) will conduct the 7-day census expending Tk 17.61 billion, BBS census wing director Md Zahidul Hoque Sardar said this while reading out a keynote paper at a workshop on PHC at its auditorium in the city on Thursday.

"The census will be different from the previous ones as it will include expatriate Bangladeshis as well as foreigners staying in Bangladesh for the first time," he added.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the daylong workshop, planning minister MA Mannan urged all concerned to work properly for collecting authentic data.

Different local and international organisations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), use BBS data and so the data must be authentic, he said.

"So you all (data collectors) must collect accurate data. Now we need more support of knowledge instead of finance. However, we are getting technical support from UNFPA in this regard," he added.

Statistics and informatics division secretary Saurendra Nath Chakrabhartty presided over the function while BBS director general Mohammad Tajul Islam, cabinet secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam, principal secretary to the prime minister Ahmad Kaikaus and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative to Bangladesh Asa Britta Torkelsson also spoke.

The BBS conducts the census in every 10 years. The last one was conducted in 2011.