By Sallieu S. Kanu
Sierra Leone’s President proclaimed on Monday that, in line with the decennial census calendar, the Government of Sierra Leone will conduct a nationwide Population and Housing Census (PHC) in 2025.
President Julius Maada Bio said in his broadcast address to the nation that “on 8th August 2024, Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2024, regarding the conduct of a nationwide Population and Housing Census was successfully laid in Parliament. On 29th August 2024, this Statutory Instrument became effective following twenty-one (21) days from its laying.”
This announcement came almost three years after the 2021 Mid-Term Population and Housing Census was held which put Sierra Leone’s population at 7, 541,641 with 3,716,263 males and 3,825, 378 females. The results from the mid-term census were widely criticized especially by the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) claiming that they did not reflect the population of Sierra Leone.
President Bio said that the data from this decennial Census in 2025 will guide the implementation of various development programmes, primarily the 2024 – 2030 Medium Term National Development Plan and their efforts to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals. “This Census will provide reliable baseline data to assess the impact of critical development interventions on both these guiding instruments with a contemporary deadline of 2030,” the president said.
He said that through statistical insights derived from this Census, they will track their progress and identify challenges crucial to their national development agenda.
President Bio said, “Sierra Leone has a long history of conducting Censuses, dating back to the earliest Census in 1802 and followed by modern-day Censuses in 1963, 1974, 1985, 2004, and 2015. With the upcoming decennial Census scheduled for 2025, we will continue this legacy. ”
He noted that building on the success of the 2021 Mid-Term Population and Housing Census, they would leverage Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) for the 2025 Population and Housing Census.
“My government will commit considerable financial and logistical resources to support this 2025 Population and Housing Census. We will collaborate with our esteemed partners such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United States Census Bureau through USAID, and others, to ensure the success of this important national endeavour.”
“At this juncture, by the order made by the Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2024, I now direct that a Population and Housing Census of all inhabitants of Sierra Leone be conducted from the 2nd to 15th December 2025. Therefore, I declare the night of 1st December 2025 as Census Night and the 2nd December 2025 as the date for the commencement of a nationwide 2025 Population and Housing Census for Sierra Leone,” President Bio Said.