By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 27: The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has concluded the data collection works for the 12th Census 2021.
The 15-day campaign of the first federal census, which started from November 11, concluded on Thursday, November 25.

According to primary estimates, the population in 2021 would remain anywhere between 28.5 million and 30 million. This estimate is made on the basis of about 7 million households and the family size of 4.1. The size of population in 2011 was 26.4 million. The first census in Nepal, which was conducted in 1911, had collected the details of 5.6 million people. However, it will take about three months for the CBS to give the primary results including the number of male and female in each district. It is planning to announce the preliminary results of the census within three months after the survey concludes.

Likewise, it will take approximately seven months to complete data entry and national report would be ready by August 2022. Complete results are expected in two years from now.
The census programmes were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The household listing and census were initially slated for May and June but the second wave of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown forced the CBS to suspend the programmes. The CBS had mobilised about 40,000 enumerators for the field survey and 8,500 supervisors had been facilitating the enumerators by providing them household listing forms, maps and other support.

Likewise, seven provincial census offices, 87 district census offices and 349 local census offices were established across the country. More than one census offices were set up in the district with large population such as Kathmandu, Morang, Jhapa and Lalitpur.

Statistics of people collected through census have been widely used for diverse purposes, especially in development planning and policy making, said the CBS. It is also planning to segregate data about the rural and urban society and will investigate into the municipalities fitting into the modern definition of 'urban area'.