Belstat's experience in disseminating census results presented at the UNECE Census Week

19 september 2023

Events 2023

Census Week 2023 is being held on September 18-22 in Geneva (Swiss Confederation) under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The annual Census Week combines two events: a capacity-building workshop on population and housing censuses and a meeting of the Expert Group on Population and Housing Censuses, which serve as a platform to exchange experiences, enhance knowledge on issues related to planning and conducting population and housing censuses in UNECE countries.

The events are attended by Zhanna Vasilevskaya, Deputy Chairperson of Belstat, and Irina Bichan, Head of the Demographic Statistics and Population Census Department of Belstat.



During session "Communication with users of census data and other stakeholders" Belstat representatives spoke about the methods and modern technologies used by Belstat to disseminate the final census data.

"The main purpose of the census is to obtain the necessary information about the demographic, socio-economic and other characteristics of the population of the country, as well as the openness of the final data, which allows access to them for everyone," noted Zhanna Vasilevskaya.

For two years Belstat has been operating an information and analytical system «Population Censuses Data of the Republic of Belarus». This tool became available to all users without registration and account creation, and also provided the opportunity to compare data from the 2009 and 2019 Census, to generate tables on individual requests, build charts, diagrams and cartograms on the parameters of interest.

Despite the simplicity of the system and user-friendly interface, a manual and an explanatory video were posted on the site, and a number of training seminars were held.

During the workshop, representatives of Belstat shared further plans to improve data dissemination methods using GIS technologies - development of the information and analytical system «Geostatistics».

«In fact, it will be a system of interactive graphical visualization of all official statistics. In addition to the data of the 2019 Census, information on various fields of statistics, including business demography, will be additionally uploaded,» said Deputy Chairperson of Belstat.

Data visualization involves varying levels of disaggregation and confidentiality. Users will be given the opportunity to obtain information about the Republic’s territory of interest, taking into account its socio-economic and demographic characteristics.

«The system will be available anywhere in the world in Belarusian, Russian and English, including on mobile devices. Users will be able to upload various information in a format convenient for them (PNG, PDF, XLSX)», - stressed Zhanna Vasilevskaya.

As a member of the Steering Group for the Development of the Recommendations of the Conference of European Statisticians for the 2030 round of censuses, Zhanna Vasilevskaya will lead the discussion on «Upcoming Population Censuses in the UNECE Region». The discussion will address the challenges that statistical services faced in preparing and implementing the 2020 Census, such as the COVID19 pandemic and others. Representatives of the statistical services will exchange ideas and plans for the forthcoming censuses, taking into account challenges and errors.

On 19 September 2023, Deputy Chairperson of Belstat Zhanna Vasilevskaya met with representatives of the World Health Organization on the publication of country assessments on the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals related to health and related areas.