The census aimed to obtain accurate and up-to-date population and socioeconomic statistics for Myanmar…reports Asian Lite News
Myanmar has kicked off a nationwide population and household census across the country on Wednesday.
The report said census collection teams from the Ministry of Immigration and Population gathered population and household data across regions and states on Tuesday.
The census aimed to obtain accurate and up-to-date population and socioeconomic statistics for Myanmar, analyse demographic and socioeconomic changes over the past 10 years, and assist in the development of policies, strategies and tactics, as well as sectoral projects, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the state-run daily The Mirror.
Additionally, the census will provide essential indicators for the implementation of the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan and contribute to strengthening the national statistical system.
Myanmar last conducted a nationwide population and household census in 2014. While the 2014 census included 41 questions, the 2024 census featured 68 questions, with an additional 27 questions designed to collect more detailed data, the report said.
Meanwhile, in a recent UN report on the human rights crisis in Myanmar, it was revealed the devastating consequences of the military coup that took place on February 1, 2021, and said that since then, at least 5,350 civilians have lost their lives, over 3.3 million people have been displaced.
Notably, on February 1, 2021, the military junta seized power in a coup ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate.
The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in a report published on Tuesday on the human rights situation in Myanmar, detailed a range of serious violations that continue to underscore the deepening crisis and lack of rule of law throughout the country.
Since the coup on 1 February 2021, at least 5,350 civilians have been killed, more than 3.3 million displaced, and over half the population is living below the poverty line, primarily due to military violence, according to the report.
The report also documents the vast scope of detentions undertaken by the military. Nearly 27,400 individuals have been arrested since the coup, with arrests on the rise since the military’s implementation of mandatory conscription in February 2024.
Credible sources verified over 9,000 individuals as having been detained by the military — a third of the 26,933 persons, including 5,556 women and 547 children, taken into custody since February 2021. Nearly half of arrests during the reporting period occurred in Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing. Arrests have particularly increased since the military announced the implementation of mandatory conscription in February 2024.
Citing credible sources, the report also said that at least 1,853 people have died in custody, including 88 children and 125 women. Many of these individuals have been verified as dying after being subjected to abusive interrogation, other ill-treatment in detention, or denial of access to adequate healthcare, the report said.
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