Mozambique: INE starts nationwide cartographic update in preparation for 2027 census

The Mozambican National Institute of Statistics (INE) announced yesterday the start of a nationwide cartographic update to support planning for the general population census scheduled for 2027, a process that will cover 161 districts across Mozambique. “This information is very important for planning the census itself. It allows us to know which areas are residential and which are non-residential,” said Arlindo Charles, head of the Cartography and Operations Department at INE, during a press conference in Maputo.

According to Charles, the process, estimated to cost around US$8 million (€6.9 million), involves the creation of teams for all districts, composed of approximately 421 people, who remain within their assigned districts throughout the cartographic activities. “We have technical personnel in the field equipped with tablets using mapping technology. They go from house to house to collect primary information about household structures, which we then integrate into our maps to guide us during the census,” Charles explained.

INE also stated that it expects all 161 districts of the country, including the seven municipal districts of Maputo city, to be covered by the process by August. The operation may take up to a year in regions with heavier workloads and between five and nine months in less populated areas. According to the head of the Cartography and Operations Department, the cartographic update in Mozambique will be conducted in five phases, the first of which began this month, covering 35 districts.

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“At this precise moment, we are already in nearly 29 districts. Mozambique currently faces a US$68 million shortfall from the total US$110 million required to fund the general population census scheduled for next year, an official source reported on Friday. “We have planned for US$110 million and currently have US$42 million, so the difference represents the deficit,” said Pedro Duce, Director of Demographic, Vital and Social Statistics at INE, speaking to journalists.

On 9 March, INE acknowledged challenges in using technology for the fifth general population and housing census in 2027, which will be conducted digitally for the first time, with misinformation being a major concern. “We are carrying out a digital census in a country that is not highly digitalised — it is not easy,” said Alexandre Marrupi, INE’s National Director of Censuses and Surveys, during the launch of the cartographic operation for next year in Maputo. According to Marrupi, besides low digitalisation, the country also faces a shortage of qualified human resources. IT personnel are now being trained to work on the 2027 census, for which the World Bank has already provided initial funding of US$12.7 million.

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