Maseru, June 10 — Minister of Finance and Development Planning Dr. Rets’elisitsoe Matlanyane says the recently completed Lesotho’s digital census collection has maintained very good coverage despite facing challenges like heavy snowfalls, network disruptions and extreme weather in remote mountainous regions.
This, she said on Wednesday during the post 2026 Population and Housing Census stakeholders meeting where she highlighted the extension to the data collection timeline to May 30, did not compromise the credibility or reliability of the final results.
She said the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning initiated these efforts as part of the broader 2020-2030 round of Censuses across Africa saying the current 2030 round introduced full digital tools for data collection.
She said use of the gadgets reduce errors, improve data security and enable quicker, more reliable results.
She said according to the Statistics Act of 2001, a scientific census must occur every 10 years, continuing a legacy that began in Lesotho in 1966.
Moreover, Minister explained that information gathered remains the backbone of the government and development partners, establishing exactly how many people there are and where they live.
“The data makes policy formulation easier and strengthens the efficiency of resource allocation across the country,” she said.
She added that the collected evidence is critical for monitoring progress toward national, regional and global developmental goals.
Dr. Matlanyane highlighted that despite operational challenges in the field, the preliminary data results thus far is highly telling and interesting saying it provides valuable insights into how Basotho society is evolving.
She reported that successful nationwide enumeration phase, with a completion rate of 135% of households. Only 0.01% of households refused participation, while 12% were vacant and 7% represented individuals outside the country.
She added that follow-ups and mop-ups are currently underway to ensure everyone is counted.
She further commended the leadership and prominent figures in the country for actively participating in being counted, saying that demonstrated solidarity and encouraged all Basotho to take part.
She expressed the government deep appreciation to the public for providing accurate details to the census staff as well as UN, UNFPA and Statistics South Africa for supporting the exercise.
She then urged staff to honor the deadlines for paying temporary census workers.
On the other hand, United Nations Resident Coordinator Ms. Taija Kontinen-Sharp commended Lesotho’s commitment to the 2026 digital population census, emphasizing that accurate data is essential for national development, policy shaping, and ensuring the inclusion of vulnerable groups. She said by supporting this modernized, inclusive approach, the UN highlights that counting every individual is a vital investment in sustainable development. Meanwhile the committee of Heads of National Statistics Officers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries during the 6th Meeting held in South Africa took a decision that all SADC member countries should conduct Population and Housing Censuses at regular intervals and share technical expertise. This resulted in the initial 2000-2010 round of Population and Housing Censuses (2000-2010 RPHC) programme while the 2016 Population and Housing Census fell within the auspices of 2015 – 2020 Round of Population and Housing Censuses programme.
The 2026 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.
Ends/AT/tl
