KINGDOM OF LESOTHO 2006 LESOTHO CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING PRELIMINARY RESULTS REPORT AUGUST 2007 United Nations Population Fund Bureau of Statistics Ministry of Finance and Development Planning Box 455, Maseru 100, Lesotho Mission: Provide accurate, timely and reliable culturally relevant and internationally comparable statistical data for evidence based planning, and to satisfy the demand of each data user. PREFACE The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MoFDP) through its department of the Bureau of Statistics (BoS) conducted the census of population and housing in April 2006, which covered all the households and usual residents in the country. This census was the fifth that was conducted in a scientific way, and unlike the other four censuses, it applied the latest technology in demarcating the enumeration areas for the preparation of the census. The BoS is also currently using the scanning technology in order to speed up data processing for detailed analysis. This report is intended to provide data users with the interim results of the 2006 census, while the detailed data analysis for the final report is being conducted. This report has attempted to present salient features of the preliminary results, comparing them with the past census results from 1976 to 1996. The presentation in this report includes text, tables and charts showing the trend and changes over the period 1976-2006. L. LEFOSA DIRECTOR BUREAU OF STATISTICS (BoS) Contents Page Mission statement Map of Lesotho Preface Contents CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND …………………………………………..1 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………..1 1.2 Scope of the preliminary data…………………………...1 1.3 Limitation of data ..…………………............................1 CHAPTER 2: POPULATION DISTRIBUTION………………………….2 2.1 Population in Districts…………………………………..2 2.2 Population in Constituencies…………………………....3 2.3 Urban and Rural residence……………………………...4 2.4 Sex distribution…………………………………………5 CHAPTER 3: POPULATION GROWTH RATE………………………....6 3.1 Inter-censal growth rate of the population………………6 3.2Conclusion…………………………………………….....7 Appendixes……………………………………………….8 - 14 CHAPTER 1 __________________ 1.0. Background 1.1 Introduction Censuses in Lesotho are undertaken decennially, and the last census was on 09th April 2006. Since that time, the Bureau of Statistics (BoS), whose mandate is to facilitate the undertaking of these censuses, has been engaged in post data collection activities, the most important of which is compilation of census data, which includes production of the census preliminary results. The census preliminary results provide interim figures of the population size for the entire country disaggregated into districts, urban and rural areas by sex. The final report of the 2006 census will provide information on all characteristics of both the de jure and de facto populations. These will include socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the population such as: • Household characteristics and Household amenities • Educational status • Employment status • Migratory status • Disability status • Mortality estimates • Fertility estimates • Household Assets All this information will be available after completion of data processing and analysis. The characteristics of the population will then be discussed in detail by district and by urban and rural areas. 1.2. Scope of the preliminary data Since the preliminary results are intended to provide an interim outcome of the census, only few population variables were manually captured and processed, for immediate planning purposes. For example, information compiled includes: • De jure population by district and sex • De jure population by Constituency and sex • De jure population by urban and rural residence and sex. • De jure population by Community Councils 1.3. Limitations of data Data that is manually compiled is subject to human errors at various stages of the process. Nevertheless, the preliminary results are not expected to vary significantly from the final results of the census, which would have been electronically processed. 1 CHAPTER 2 ______ 2.0. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION 2.1. Population in Districts According to the preliminary results of the 2006 Lesotho Census of Population and Housing, the population of Lesotho is 1,880,661, out of which males constitute 916,282 and females represent 964,379. This means that males account for 48.7 percent of the total population, while females constitute 51.3 percent. This is consistent with the situation in the past censuses of 1976, 1986 and 1996, where in each case, males represented 49.0 percent of the total population, and females constituted 51.0 percent. Table 2.1. De jure Population 2006 Population distributed by different Percentage Distribution of the de jure districts in 2006 in Table 2.1, shows population by district - 2006 that more than one fifth of the District Population % Share of total population resides in Maseru district Botha –Bothe 109,529 5.8 (22.9 percent). Leribe and Berea Leribe 298,352 15.9 Berea 256,496 13.6 districts have 15.9 and 13.6 percent of Maseru 429,823 22.9 the total population, respectively. Mafeteng 193,682 10.3 Mohale’s Hoek 174,924 9.3 Quthing 120,502 6.4 With the exception of Mafeteng district Qacha’s Nek 71876 3.8 that has 10.3 percent of the total Mokhotlong 96,340 5.1 population, each of the other districts Thaba - Tseka 129,137 6.9 has less than 10 percent of the total Total 1,880,661 100 population. The districts in the mountainous part of the country, mainly Thaba -Tseka, Quthing, Mokhotlong and Qacha’s Nek have fewer populations. For example, populations residing in these districts constitute 6.9 percent, 6.4 percent, 5.1 percent, and 3.8 percent respectively of the total population of the country. Botha – Bothe though in the lowland part of the country, has only 5.8 of the total population of Lesotho. Figure 2.1 illustrates the distribution of the total population by districts over the period 1976 to 2006. The percentage distribution of the 2006 census preliminary results by district is reasonably consistent with the trend over time. 2 As portrayed by Figure 2.1, the three districts of Maseru, Leribe and Berea are the most populous of all the districts. Together they have more than half of the total population of the country. In 1976, the population of Maseru constituted 21.2 percent of the total population. Its share of the total population however dropped to19.4 percent in 1986, but increased again to 20.9 percent in 1996, which is close to the 1976 level. During the year 2006, the population in this district increased to 22.9 percent of the total population. Maseru’s rising share of the total population is consistent with expectation, since it is the capital of the country. Figure 2.1.Percentage distribution of the total population by district - 1976 -2006 Thaba - Tseka Mokhotlong Qacha's Nek 2006 Quthing 1996 Mohale's Hoek 1986 Mafeteng 1976 District Maseru Berea Leribe Botha - Bothe 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percentage Note: Thaba-Tseka did not exist in 1976. The trend also shows that there have been some fluctuations in the percentage share of the total population for each of the districts. For instance, the percentage contributions of Leribe, Mafeteng and Quthing to the total population in 1986 were 17.1, 12.9 and 7.5 percent respectively, which were almost similar to their contributions of 17.0 percent, 12.7 percent and 7.3 percent in 1976. However, the percentage contribution of each of these districts to the total population in 1996 was reduced slightly to 16.3 percent, 11.5 percent and 6.8 percent respectively. The corresponding percentages in 2006 reflect a decline to 15.9, 10.3 and 6.4 percent respectively. Qacha’Nek and Quthing districts contributed the smallest percentages in 2006 of 3.8 and 6.4 respectively, compared to their contribution of 3.9 percent and 6.8 percent respectively in 1996. 2.2. Population in constituencies The Enumeration Areas (EA’s) are demarcated within the constituencies throughout the country. The constituencies however keep changing; hence it is very difficult to make a trend analysis, which shows the changes in population dynamics within different constituencies. During the past 3 political elections, there used to be 65 constituencies, and they increased to 80 during the 2007 elections. According to Table A2 (see annexes for details) the populations in the constituencies range between 17, 000 to the most populated one with 27,000 people. 2.3. Urban and Rural residence Urban areas during the censuses are defined according to the definition (legal declaration) provided by LSPP. Accordingly, districts administrative headquarters and other settlements of rapid population growth, such as Maputsoe in the Leribe district and Semonkong in the case of Maseru district are classified as urban areas. A detailed population distribution by urban areas by district will be provided during the detailed 2006 census report. Table 2.2. Population by Urban and Rural residence Table 2.2 shows that the urban share Percentage distribution of the de jure population by of the total population has been rising Residence Urban and Rural residence: 1976 – 2006 over the years, while the rural share 1976 1986 1996 2006 has steadily been decreasing. The Urban 10.5 11.8 16.9 23. 8 percentage of the total population Rural 89.5 88.2 83.1 76.2 Total 100 100 100 100 living in urban areas increased from 10.5 percent in 1976 to 24 percent in 2006. Consequently, the rural population in 2006 census constitutes 76 percent of the total population. As shown in Figure 2.2, out of a total de jure population of 1,216,815 in the 1976 census, 89.5 percent was residing in the rural areas, while 10.5 percent was residing in the urban areas. There was however an improvement during the 1986 census, where out of the de jure population of 1,595,096, the urban population constituted 11.8 percent of the total population, while those who were residing in the rural areas represented 88.2 percent.