Myanmar's census falls 9 million short of estimate

Full details of the census, including data on the country's ethnic groups, will be released next year

Myanmar's first census in more than 30 years has revealed that the country has 9 million fewer people than it thought.

The country's last national survey was in 1983 and until now the government had estimated that the total population was about 60 million.

But figures released on Friday from a census conducted in March and April says the population is just 51 million.

Continues here:- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28990956

Other coverage:- Ooops! Myanmar discovers it has only 51 million people

Nine million ‘missing’ citizens may be abroad

Published on Sunday, 31 August 2014 04:00

Minister of Immigration and Population Khin Yi explains the preliminary results of the census at a press conference at Kandawgyi Palace Hotel in Yangon on Saturday. (EMG).

Political groups say final results of the census should be announced before May 2015, as there are fears that population figures have been manipulated for electoral advantage in national elections, and that this may also be occurring in the lead-up to next year’s poll.

Continues here:- http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7384:missing-nine-million-population-may-be-abroad&catid=32:politics&Itemid=354

Myanmar's missing millions

The leftovers Sep 4th 2014, 10:21

by T.J. | BANGKOK

MYANMAR has just found out that 9m-odd people it had thought were living within its borders actually do not. In fact most of them don’t live anywhere at all. The first census in three decades puts Myanmar’s population at just 51m, not 60m.

Continues here:- http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/09/myanmars-missing-millions

‘Burma’s Population Is Only 51 Million—We Lose in Geopolitics’

Salai Isaac Khen, executive director of the Gender and Development Initiative Myanmar, joins a taping of Dateline Irrawaddy in Rangoon. (Photo: Nyein Chan / The Irrawaddy)

Burma’s first nationwide census in more than 30 years found that the population of the country is just 51.4 million, according to provisional data released last week.

In the time since the last count, various organizations have taken guesses at just how much the population had grown, but the government’s claim of 60 million was the most widely used estimate. The Burmese people and policymakers must now adjust to the reality of a country smaller than most thought.

Salai Isaac Khen—an ethnic Chin activist and director of the Gender and Development Initiative Myanmar—is a member of National Technical Advisory Board for the census. Following the announcement of provisional results, he spoke to The Irrawaddy about what impacts the revision will have on development policy.

Continues here:- http://www.irrawaddy.org/interview/burmas-population-51-million-lose-geopolitics.html