'Govt Plans to Hold 6th Population, Housing Census on Dec 24-30'

Planning Minister MA Mannan today said in Jatiya Sangsad that the government has planned to conduct the sixth population and housing census from December 24 to 30 this year.

Replying to a tabled question from ruling party lawmaker M Abdul Latif (Chattogram-11), the minister said the government has also a plan to conduct fully the population and housing census in digital method.

The census, which is usually conducted once in a decade, provides complete data on the overall population, its composition, workforce, density, housing and other socio-economic indicators vital for formulating economic and other policies.

The last census was conducted in 2011 when the country's population stood at 15.17 crore, with the population growing at 1.37 percent per annum.

Currently, the estimated population is 16.8 crore, according to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2021.

In Bangladesh, the first population census was conducted in 1974. Subsequently, the population and housing censuses were held in 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011.

In October 2019, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a Taka 1,761 crore project for the population and housing census.

However, the BBS could not hold the census as per the scheduled timeframe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, it pushed back further the date to October 25-31.