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Gates Foundation to Fund Satellite Project For Census

The Central Statistics Organization (CSO) on Sunday announced its plans to use remote sensing technology for census purposes in Afghanistan in the future.

According to CSO, the Gates Foundation has pledged to fund the project in Afghanistan which will help to conduct the census.

Estimates show that Afghanistan currently needs $200 million USD to conduct the process, but the government does not have the money to fund such a project.

CSO estimates that currently the population growth rate in Afghanistan is around two percent which also indicates that the overall population of Afghanistan has reached around 30 million this year.

CSO officials say that a census is needed for economic development in Afghanistan, adding that the ongoing turbulence in the security sector and lack of financial resources have prevented a census from being carried out.

CSO states that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Gates Foundation will fund the remote project.

“We have worked on the topic on the basis of the footage which we receive from satellite along with other information that we receive from the site—this was also used previously in some other countries such as Nigeria and Tanzania and other countries for different purposes,” said CSO chairman Ahmad Jawed.

“All surveys we conducted so far including social and demographic surveys were funded through foreign aid, none of them was carried out from the budget of Afghanistan,” said Haseebullah Mauhid, CSO technical deputy.

Based on the CSO statistics, the population in Afghanistan is estimated to be 30 million of which 15 million are women.

Gates Foundation to Fund Satellite Project For Census

By using satellite imagery, a high-tech census will be carried out in order to ascertain Afghanistan’s actual population.

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The Central Statistics Organization (CSO) on Sunday announced its plans to use remote sensing technology for census purposes in Afghanistan in the future.

According to CSO, the Gates Foundation has pledged to fund the project in Afghanistan which will help to conduct the census.

Estimates show that Afghanistan currently needs $200 million USD to conduct the process, but the government does not have the money to fund such a project.

CSO estimates that currently the population growth rate in Afghanistan is around two percent which also indicates that the overall population of Afghanistan has reached around 30 million this year.

CSO officials say that a census is needed for economic development in Afghanistan, adding that the ongoing turbulence in the security sector and lack of financial resources have prevented a census from being carried out.

CSO states that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Gates Foundation will fund the remote project.

“We have worked on the topic on the basis of the footage which we receive from satellite along with other information that we receive from the site—this was also used previously in some other countries such as Nigeria and Tanzania and other countries for different purposes,” said CSO chairman Ahmad Jawed.

“All surveys we conducted so far including social and demographic surveys were funded through foreign aid, none of them was carried out from the budget of Afghanistan,” said Haseebullah Mauhid, CSO technical deputy.

Based on the CSO statistics, the population in Afghanistan is estimated to be 30 million of which 15 million are women.

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