Using Census Data in Emergency Situations:

Mozambique’s Experience with Census 97

João Dias Loureiro

Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE)

Christopher Corlett

U.S. Census Bureau

Mozambique 1997 Census

• Census 97 national results released in late 1999

• floods in Gaza and Inhambane – February 2000

• Census was the only source of information for lowest geographical levels

• but … Census results were only published by province/district/admin post/locality; not village

• in fact, a complete list of the approximately 10,000 villages did not even exist at the time

Mozambique 1997 Census

• INE organized an emergency mobilization:– 30 clerks (former data entry operators)– 1 month of work– analyzed census maps, determined a single lat/long

coordinate for each village– information was verified, then put into ArcView GIS– male/female population, number of households also– overlaid with flood impact data from sat. imagery– coordinated with WFP, funded by GOM+USAID

• Result: a very good estimate of the number of people affected by the floods

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MBUVA

GALANA

BOBOLE

MABIWE

NANDJA

NWANZAPHATENE

PATEQUE

HOBJANA

CUMBENE

MATSONE

MANGOINE

HUNIHANA

MBOCHANA

MATIMANA

MACHOVANA

MATSINANA

CHIMOVANA

MACANETA-1

MURONDZANE

NWANJOCUENE

MANGAVILANA

MACANETA II

NHONGONHANE

SAMORA MACHEL

EDUARDO MONDLANE

Villages in the flood inundation areaMarracuene District

Mozambique 1997 Census

• Political impact: everyone saw how important the census was for Mozambique

• Humanitarian impact: the census saved lives• This is an example of census advocacy: it won’t be as

difficult to get funding for Census 2007• This can be considered a good example of how census

data is the best (and only) source of small area data.

Mozambique 1997 Census

• Didn’t involve high-tech solution, but applied all the resources used during the census to get results quickly and with a limited budget.

• Subsequent work has refined the spatial data, using GPS, etc. (examples: land-mine locations can be layered on top of population data, thematic atlas, poverty mapping).

The end …