The disagreement at government level over the failure to carry out the fifth general census comes against a backdrop of a crucial lack of data and statistics essential for informed decision-making in Haiti, according to specialists
Every ten years, Haiti is required to conduct a general population and housing census; however, the last such exercise was conducted twenty years ago.
The two key institutions for this initiative, the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Informatics (IHSI) and the State Secretariat for Population, are offering different explanations for not carrying out the 5th general census, while specialists denounce the harmful consequences of the absence of up-to-date statistics on the country.
IHSI Director Wilson Fièvre told AyiboPost that the security situation was a major obstacle, while Laurent Beaugé, Secretary of State for Population, believes that only a lack of will and resources can prevent the census from taking place.
Every ten years, Haiti is required to conduct a general population and housing census; however, the last such exercise was conducted twenty years ago.
« If certain areas in the department of the West, for example, remain inaccessible, we could conduct the census in the other nine departments, » Beaugé claims.
For inaccessible areas, the Secretary of State tells AyiboPost that they make projections. Therefore, according to him, « the issue of insecurity raised by the IHSI does not hold. »
Wilson Fièvre rejects this idea from the Secretary of State for Population. According to the director of the IHSI, the general population census cannot be carried out in a fragmented manner.
The census must be conducted all at once (over eight to ten weeks) to avoid biases that could arise from the movement of populations, Wilson Fièvre explains. « The methodology is developed by the United Nations, and we must adhere to it, » says the director.
Otherwise, warns Fièvre, this international institution that contributes to the financing of data collection « will not validate the results. »
The methodology is developed by the United Nations, and we must adhere to it.
According to United Nations requirements, general censuses should take place every ten years.
The initiative allows for knowing the current size of the population and capturing in detail relevant sociodemographic characteristics, including its evolution, spatial distribution, needs, educational level, level of internal migration, and more.
« There is a veritable problem in producing statistical data on the population in Haiti, that’s a fact, » says Laurent Beaugé, Secretary of State for Population.
According to Beaugé, this lack of data « is a major obstacle to the country’s development, » since the lack of up-to-date socio-demographic data « gives rise to development budgets and plans that do not reflect the country’s reality ». This, according to Beaugé, « partly explains the failure of these plans ».
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Three specialists interviewed by AyiboPost point to the lack of reliable and current data on the Haitian population as a major problem.
Due to this lack of relevant and current demographic and socio-economic information on education, health, the environment, agriculture, housing, and migration, leaders have been blindly steering Haiti for years. In these conditions, according to these experts, good governance remains utopic.
This lack of data is a major obstacle to the country’s development, since the lack of up-to-date socio-demographic data gives rise to development budgets and plans that do not reflect the country’s reality.
An economist, Emmanuela Douyon faced this lack of data when she was researching the results of the last elections, by commune, as part of an academic project.
« No institution was able to provide me with this information, not even the Provisional Electoral Council or the political parties, » Douyon told AyiboPost.
Normally, a political party should have this information to better assess its performance. But according to Emmanuela Douyon, executive director of PoliCité, « Haitian leaders do not have the culture of making decisions based on data. »
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This data is the key raw material for all rational decision-making. This is what Paul Antoine Bien-aimé, professor at the State University of Haiti (UEH), explains to AyiboPost.
After the 2010 earthquake, Bien-Aimé continues, « no Haitian institution had data on people living in camps, except for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), » he recalls.
Haitian leaders do not have the culture of making decisions based on data.
The state is at the top of the list of those responsible for this problem, according to specialists. The authorities do not assert their « leadership role in producing data on the population in Haiti, » says Lamarre Cadet, a professor of social planning at the State University of Haiti (UEH).
« We have very little information about the number of young people entering or leaving the university each year, » observes Lamarre Cadet. « The same goes for internally displaced people. Municipalities do not have this information, let alone an archiving system for the evolution of local populations, » says Cadet, who sees the situation as a « nightmare. »
Without this information, Cadet continues, nothing can be planned or anticipated, and the numbers produced by NGOs often reflect their own agendas. « The state is flying blind, » says the professor, who reminds us that the production, processing, and availability of data is a « priority in other countries concerned with the well-being of their population. »
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In the absence of up-to-date population data, some specialists explain to AyiboPost that public policymakers often rely on studies conducted by international institutions.
The state is blindly moving forward […], the processing and availability of data is a « priority in other countries concerned about the well-being of their population. »
For Laurent Beaugé, Secretary of State for Population, « this is a very bad thing. » He explains that demographic data, the state of the population, biometric data, and data related to the economic and social development of the population are of strategic importance, even a matter of national security.
« It is not possible for a country to be unable to collect data on its citizens and assert its sovereignty in this regard, » continues the government official.
The fifth general census, which was supposed to have been conducted since May 2020, had to be halted due to insecurity at the request of international partners, according to Wilson Fièvre, Director General of IHSI.
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The institute, in collaboration with the National Center for Geospatial Information, is in the process of creating a new map of the country that will be used to conduct the general survey, Fièvre reveals, but he does not have a date for the fifth population census.
« Finding an eight to ten-week window to conduct the census is very difficult given the current situation in the country, » the director continues.
It is not possible for a country to fail to collect data on its citizens and assert its sovereignty on this matter.
In the meantime, some projections based on the 2003 census highlight the urgent need for concrete actions by the government.
For example, by 2030, Haiti’s population is projected to reach fourteen million people.
Citizens between the ages of zero to fifteen and 65 years and older will then represent « 22 to 30 percent » of the total population, explains the Secretary of State for Population, Laurent Beaugé.
Considering that a child aged zero to fifteen cannot yet work and that people are already of retirement age starting at 65, this implies that we will have a very dependent population, Beaugé continues.
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The state will therefore be responsible for these individuals.
The Secretary of State adds that this represents a « major challenge and requires anticipatory action ». He also stated that his department is in the process of organizing citizen consultation initiatives to gather information on the public’s views regarding the census. That information will be submitted to the IHSI.
English translation by Sarah Jean.
© Cover image : freepik
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