People take part in a cleaning activity on Kaunda Day in Lusaka, Zambia, on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)
Zambia on Friday announced the results of its first-ever electronic national census, which indicated the country's population stood at 19.6 million, up from 13.1 million in 2010.
LUSAKA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday announced the results of its first-ever electronic national census, which indicated the country's population stood at 19.6 million, up from 13.1 million in 2010.
The sixth census of population and housing was conducted between Aug. 18 and Sept. 14, 2022.
According to preliminary results announced by the Zambia Statistics Agency, out of the 19,610,769 people that were counted, 10,007,713 were female while 9,603,056 were male.
The annual population growth rate rose from 2.8 percent between 2000 and 2010 to 3.4 percent between 2010 and 2022.
This photo shows bicycle taxi riders waiting for customers in Petauke district, Eastern Province, Zambia, Oct. 22, 2022. (Photo by Lillian Banda/Xinhua)
And in remarks delivered at the launch, Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane said the census achieved universal coverage despite some challenges faced at the start of the exercise.
"For the public sector, census information is critical, to sound decision-making in development planning, resource allocation and policy formulation," he said, noting that the data will be particularly important in assisting the government to better allocate resources.
The data will also help the private sector in their investment planning, including service and product development, the minister said. ■
