Issues Gathering Data in Developing Countries

• Countries with many official languages have to translate their census forms and employ enumerators who can speak multiple languages. E.g. China has 302
• Many people can’t read and write and therefore are unable to complete the forms or might make mistakes unintentionally leading to inaccuracy
• Poor road access and difficult terrain E.g. Bolivia’s Death Road may make it difficult for enumerators to distribute census forms.
• Conflict can make it too dangerous for enumerators to enter parts of a country or cause data to quickly become dated due to high death rates.
• Undertaking a census is a very expensive process. In developing countries, there may be higher priorities for spending, including housing.
• Rapid rural to urban migration, can make it difficult to gather accurate population data as people may be missed.
• Many people in developing countries may be living in informal housing, so have no official address E.g., Dhararvi.
• People who are illegal immigrants are unlikely to complete a census for fear of deportation, leading to inaccurate data
• Nomadic people can be easily counted twice due to traveling around.
• Ethnic tensions and internal political rivalries may lead to inaccuracies, e.g., northern Nigeria was reported to have inflated its population figures to secure increased political representation.