Pacific censuses breaking new ground

Transcript

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says the face of statistics in the region has changed dramatically in the last five years bringing quality socio-demographic data to policy makers in small island developing states.

The Director of SPC's Statistics for Development Division Gerald Haberkorn told Koroi Hawkins that modern Censuses like the one being conducted in Palau combine survey information with GIS mapping to provide an accurate picture of Pacific populations.

GERALD HABERKORN: What we have done is we have negotiated, discussed with the Palau authorities, the, their willingness to adopt what we propose as a Pacific Island country wide census module. So we get comparable statistics over a large range of activities. The other real innovation not so much for Palau, but what we brought in from other Pacific island countries. Is that we have all the censuses geo-coded. That is it provides, it provides almost like an address register. Which most Pacific Island countries don't have. So we would have like 85 percent, 75 percent of the Pacific population living in rural dwellings and there is no actual capture of where they are exactly. This is the type of info, innovations that the Palau census has achieved.

KOROI HAWKINS: I take it that this has been done in other Pacific island countries before?

GH: Absolutely

KH: How many other countries?

GH: Every Pacific island country that has done a census in the last five years except for Papua New Guinea. We have a fully geo-referenced population base, dwelling base, household base, yes we do.

KH: And how many countries have had their census in the last five years?

GH: In the last, since 2000, in the last census round twenty one out of the twenty two Pacific island territories have completed a census. So we are right up the top of the world, we have the best census coverage of all world regions in the last round and that would not have happened quite frankly, without a massive financial support from the Australian and New Zealand governments through their aid programs. To assist those countries who cannot full fund a household, population household census to actually do so.

KH: This seems at odds or even contradictory to the common perception that data in the Pacific is notoriously absent from statistical data that government use and policy makers use. Are you saying that we have this data now available?

GH: We have had data, good solid social, demographic, economic statistics in the Pacific for the last five years. I mean if you go on to Google and google Pacific island development statistics you are directed to our website and you can find a database with 208 or 209, I cant remember development indicators across health, education, labour force, agriculture, forestry, fisheries etc etc. The information is available, it is not only available it is accessible.

KH: And with Palau now going into their census. What are the gaps, are their any, it sounds like a really good system are their any shortfalls?

GH: There are shortfalls outside of the census statistics. At the moment the biggest single shortfall we have is in civil registration, vital statistics. I mean in country's like New Zealand, in Australia, in most developed economies. Population registers, civil registration systems are part and parcel of functioning national governance structures and government practices. In the Pacific at the moment we would have maybe three or four countries civil registration systems that are worth the name. So we still rely largely on population census's and household surveys to get actual figures that relate to population stock. But unless governments really see the value of statistics to inform their own policy development and planning. Their own monitoring and tracking of regular policy performance and progress and be able to report on that on the basis of facts. We will not be able to push this forward.

KH: Any final thoughts in terms of where this is going into the future and maybe as more censuses around the Pacific come on line?

GH: Well the most immediate challenge in the future is the post 2015 international development agenda, the sustainable development goals. I am not sure how familiar you are with that. If you remember the millennium development goals, we were looking at that time at eight goals and 60 indicators. At the moment we are looking at the sustainable development goals at 17 and 187 targets and 300 plus indicators. So the pressure the challenge, for countries all around the world and particularly for small island developing states like in the Pacific, in the Caribbean, in the Indian Ocean and in Africa it is going to be phenomenal. It is going to be absolutely enormous because we are dealing with development  goals and sectors for which up to today no statistics no data have been collected. That means massive investments are required in that particular area of data and analytics. And if the international development community, does not recognise that and follows their recognition up with action in terms of substantive investments in this area. I am not sure how the countries will be able to implement let alone monitor and report on progress on a regular basis. It is an enormous, enormous challenge.