Maseru, July 16 — The Bureau of Statistics (BoS), operating under the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, has initiated a vital quality assurance process following the completion of the 2026 Housing and Population Census in May.
The verification and validation exercise, which commenced this Thursday, is designed to strengthen the credibility and reliability of the census results.
According to a statement from BoS Census data serves as the foundation for critical national planning, resource allocation and policy formulation therefore to ensure these decisions are based on accurate data, the BoS is meticulously reviewing the information collected during the nationwide count.
It states that the exercise is being conducted by BoS permanent staff, ensuring experienced oversight who are visiting selected households and communities across the country to verify the data.
It indicates that since the BoS places the highest priority on protecting respondent privacy, all field staff are required to adhere to strict confidentiality and professional standards.
It adds that in accordance with the Statistics Act of 2001, any information provided will be kept completely confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes.
Therefore the public is strongly urged to fully cooperate with BoS field staff and provide accurate responses to help build a stronger, more prosperous Lesotho.The Census is crucial for updating data on population size, distribution and living conditions which directly informs government decisions on healthcare, education and infrastructure among others.
The 2026 Housing and Population Census was the seventh scientific census within the 2020-2030 round undertaken by Lesotho since that of 1966.Preliminary Census results will be released in August.
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