By Kruah Thompson
Liberia’s population is now estimated at 5.2 million, according to the provisional census results released by authorities here on Tuesday, 22 February 2023.
This comes roughly fifteen years after the country conducted the first post-war National Population and Housing Census in 2008 during the first term of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Provisional results released in March 2008 estimated Liberia’s population at 3,489,072.
Her successor President George Manneh Weah’s government delayed the conduct of the current census multiple times before it was conducted in late 2022 with so many controversies surrounding it.
The Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LIGIS) released the provisional census results Tuesday in line with Article 39 of the Liberian Constitution.
LISGIS Acting Director General Lawrence George released the census report Wednesday at the Monrovia City Hall on Capitol Hill.
He announced that the country’s population is 5.2 million (5,248,621), with a population growth of 3.0 and an average household size of 4.4.
Of this number, LISGIS reported that 50.4% are males, or 2,644,450; and the female population accounts for 49.6%, or 2,604,171, giving a national sex ratio of 101.5 males for every 100 females.
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Comparatively, the 2008 census show similar results with the country reporting more males than females despite more male death reported during the country’s decade-long civil war.
The 2008 census recorded 1,764 555 males while females were recorded at 1724517 at a ratio of 102.3 males to 100 females.
The report says 1,187,388 households were enumerated, with an average national household size of 4.4 people, while the National Population Density is 140 persons per square mile.
Mr. George said the Liberian government through LISGIS, with technical support from the United Nations Population Fund and development partners conducted the fifth Population and Housing Census utilizing digital technology in consonance with the 2020 rounds of the census.
He added that the project was slated for 2018, but it was delayed due to several factors including but not limited to the transition of government from the Sirleaf regime to the Weah regime in 2018.
George also cited the 2019 global outbreak of the Coronavirus which spread to Liberia, among other things.
However, he said the Government of Liberia inspired by its drive to make informed national developmental decisions, and to utilize quality data, conducted the census in phases.
He explained that the first census activities including the preparatory and planning phases started in 2018 with the documentation and preparation. He said these activities were followed by cartographic and geographic planning and mapping exercises.
Presenting the provisional results, Mr. Chea Sanford Wesseh, the National Consultant of the 2022 NPHC said the Census is Liberia’s first complete state-of-the-act digital census that uses monitoring dashboards and a computer-aided personal interview technology in all aspects of its implementation to enhance the quality of the data collected.
According to him, about 16,562 census enumerators and supervisors visited households nationwide, counted, and collected detailed information on nearly all people that spent the census night (November 10, 2022) in their respective homes.
According to him, the actual census enumeration was conducted from November 20 to December 2022, with a mop-up exercise from December 2022 to 7 January 2023.
He reported that the completeness of the 2022 NPHC is ranked at 97 percent, adding that it is an internationally acceptable achievement.
According to Mr. Wesseh, the rural population accounts for 48 percent while the urban areas constitute 52 percent of the population.
Meanwhile, Liberia’s Vice President Madam Jewel Howard-Taylor has appreciated development partners and applauded LIGIS for the level of work done to generate the result from the just-ended 2022 census.
She also applauded the Ministry of Information for providing the platform. She also expressed delight that the census will be used to assist the government in making decisions on behalf of the country.
For his part, the Ambassador Ghana to Liberia Mr. Kwabena Okubi-Appiah applauded the government and Vice President Howard-Taylor for their interventions in the process.
The Ghanaian Envoy said Census is not just a developmental tool, but it will be used to have a defined postal system.
Other partners applauded the government for the provisional results released and looked forward to the release of the final results.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/lisgis-enumerators-protest-over-arrears/
