Problems gathering data in developing countries

• Some countries will have to hire enumerators who speak multiple languages to translate the census, this is if there are multiple official languages in the country
• Employing many enumerators including ones that can speak multiple languages will be expensive. This is not ideal for developing countries as the governments of them tend to have less money
• Literacy rates in developing countries are usually low, so people may not understand the census and make mistakes. This leads to the census being inaccurate
• Poor infrastructure and difficult terrain (e.g. Amazon rainforest) makes it difficult for enumerators to distribute the census forms
• May be dangerous for enumerators in some places due to conflict (war)
• In war torn countries, the population changes drastically (due to many deaths) so the information becomes dated
• Governments in developing countries may not have enough money to carry out a census as it is an expensive process. This is because they are prioritising other things e.g. housing
• People may be living in informal housing so have no address (e.g. Rio de Janeiro favelas)
• Illegal immigrants will not fill out a census in fear of being deported. Thid results in inaccurate data
• Nomads can be easily missed or counted twice (e.g. Fulani in the Sahel)
• 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