IMO calls for intensified work so that Census results are known before summer 2015

The International Monitoring Operation (IMO) for the 2013 population and household census in BiH has made an assessment of the processing status and preparations for the publication of the first results. Data were collected during the census held in October 2013, reports the Patria news agency.

At the invitation of the Council of Ministers of BiH, the European Commission established the IMO in 2009 to ensure that the preparation and implementation of the census are in line with European and international standards. The IMO consists of representatives of the following organizations: EUROSTAT, which chairs the Management Group, the Directorate-General for Enlargement of the European Commission, the Council of Europe, UNSD (United Nations Statistics Division), and UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe).

Based on the assessment of census experts by the Steering Committee, the IMO, chaired by Pieter Everaers, Director at EUROSTAT responsible for cooperation with enlargement countries in the field of statistics, highlights the successful scanning and data processing leading to the establishment of an electronic database from the questionnaires.

The IMO acknowledges the work carried out during this phase and recognizes the significant efforts successfully invested to ensure quality and professional independence during this part of the process, in line with the recommendations of the Steering Committee. This marks the completion of another phase of the census operation.

However, the IMO also wishes to emphasize the need to intensify activities related to the remaining steps of the census in order to enable the publication of the first results before the summer of 2015. The IMO particularly appeals to statistical institutions in BiH to complete data processing, including rules for the preparation and coding of census data, as well as the processing of data from the Post-Enumeration Survey. The IMO wishes to encourage statistical agencies to continue effective cooperation in order to adopt a plan for the timely and efficient distribution of the first results to all potential users as soon as possible.

Given the importance of the census results for BiH, the IMO counts on the continued commitment of the BiH authorities and good cooperation among all statistical offices during the remaining phases of the census.

A list of detailed technical recommendations by the IMO will be forwarded to the BiH authorities within the Twentieth Assessment Report after the IMO mission.