Roundup: Myanmar's main census result contributes to national planning

Myanmar's main result of the 2014 population and housing census, which was released over the weekend, contributes to its national planning by using it to identify gap and pinpoint need for infrastructural and social services.

President U Thein Sein, who launched the result personally, expressed appreciation over the participation and cooperation rendered in the census process by international donors, representatives of U.N. agencies, international NGOs, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Vijay Nambiar, U.N. Special Adviser for Myanmar, hailed the census as a "monumental achievement" that will benefit both the country's development and its democratic process, despite challenges that need to be addressed.

The total population accounted for 51.5 million which include estimates for areas not enumerated in Rakhine, Kachin and Kayin states, a total of 1.2 million people, according to the main result launched by U Thein Sein.

Myanmar's population, which grew slower at 0.89 percent per year, is less than half of the 1970s rate, the result claimed.

Of its population, more females (51.8 percent) were counted than male (48.2 percent) with the urban population across the country representing 30 percent of the total and the rural population taking up 70 percent.

Half the population is under age 27 but the proportion of children has started to fall. The average number of children per woman has declined to 2.3 from 4.7 in 1983.

Life expectancy at birth, 66.8 years, has improved but remains one of the lowest in South-East Asia, it said, adding that the life expectancy is six years longer for females than males.

Infant and under-5 mortality rate are high nationwide registering 62 and 72 per 100,000 live birth respectively and nearly twice as high in some states as in others.

Almost 90 percent of adult male and 50 percent of female are literate but in Shan state only 63 percent are.

Some 85 percent of adult males and 50 percent of females are in the workforce, while unemployment is 4 percent and nearly twice as high for those 15-29.

Yangon stands as the most populated region with over 7.355 million accounting for 14.3 percent and the least populated state is Kayah state with 286,738 accounting for 0.6 percent.

The launching of the main result of the population census was also attended by chief ministers from 15 states and regions, ethnic and religious leaders.

Myanmar held a 12-day national census in March-April 2014, the first in three decades, successfully collected 98 percent of the current population with technical guidance from UNFPA and financial support from international donors.

The country's first population census, collected in 1872, showed 2.7 million, while the second in 1983 registered 35.3 million. Endi