North Korean Party Paper Urges Residents to Prepare for Nationwide Census

Text of report by North Korean newspaper Nodong Sinmun on 21 September

[Nodong Sinmun 21 September special article by Kim Ko'n-to: "On Population Census"]

The great leader [suryo'ng] Comrade Kim Il Sung [Kim Il-so'ng] taught the following.

“Statistical survey and statistical research work should be conducted in order to obtain accurate statistical data.”

Population census work will be conducted in our country shortly.

Generally speaking, population census is a population statistics concept comprehensively referring to the overall process of gathering, studying, assessing, and analysing various data on population and socio-economic living conditions for all people resident within a country’s territory at a certain point of time and publishing and disseminating findings.

Such population census is a powerful research method for obtaining various data – such as demographic changes, social composition, and migration status – relevant to the activities and survival of population, uncovering correlations among them, and comparing the state of development among different countries.

The United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] serves as an international agency related to worldwide population issues.

The UNFPA is an agency established for the purpose of providing material and technological cooperation for education and propaganda on family planning and the state of its execution in developing countries, maternity and children’s heath promotion, and population growth.

The UNFPA is an international organization operating for the purpose of providing developing countries with financial and technological cooperation, which basically covers family planning, population growth, health, and population and development strategies.

Our country is actively promoting cooperation work with the UNFPA.

Our country joined the UNFPA in 1985.

This is the second such project undertaken by the UNFPA, following the first population census taken in our country in 1993.

Population census requires long-term preparation, and it takes a lot of manpower, supplies, and financial investment to conduct population census.

As a case in point, the number of people mobilized in one country’s population census reached seven million.

Population census basically takes place in three stages: pre- census preparation stage, census stage, and post-census stage.

The main purpose of the second population census taken in our country is to contribute to societal management by gaining a specific and comprehensive picture of the country’s population and to obtain population and socio-economic data needed to develop work in various areas of economic and cultural construction.

Population census follows a unitary methodology under the state’s unified organization and oversight, and the method involves face-to- face interviews between census takers and individual members of households as census units.

Po pulation census begins at the same time on the same date to cover all areas nationwide and ends on the same later date.

In order to ensure the quality of population census data, it is important for residents participating in the census to become familiar with census methodology issues and census items before participating in the census.

The latest population census will be conducted from 1 to 15 October Chuch’e 97 (2008).

Population census items include gender, age, relationship with the head of household, ethnicity, current and last schools attended, credentials (technician and professional), occupation (people’s economy sector and job occupation), marital status, and birth and death status.

Other population census items include the type and size of house, potable water and toilet conditions, heating status, and cooking fuel.

Residents need to be well prepared to make accurate answers to questions concerning their household and themselves according to these census items.

Diligently participating in the latest population census as one represents an outgrowth of noble patriotism and civic duty.

All residents must make active contributions to forcefully propelling the construction of an economically powerful state by learning the political meaning and importance of population census work well and actively taking part in the work.

Originally published by Nodong Sinmun, Pyongyang, in Korean 21 Sep 08.

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