Improving Census Data Quality for Pacific Islands
Year
Technologies
In collaboration with the Statistics for Development Division (SDD) of the Pacific Community (SPC), this project aimed to enhance the quality and consistency of 2020 Population and Household Census data for five Pacific Island countries (PICTs). The project was part of the Ten-Year Pacific Statistics Strategy (TYPSS), which focuses on advancing statistical systems across the Pacific region.
Our role was to support the national statistical offices (NSOs) in processing the census data collected. We began by identifying data issues and providing feedback in a structured format that was easy for NSOs to act upon, improving the efficiency of their data handling processes.
To further support data quality, we developed and implemented automated data cleaning programs, addressing inconsistencies and imputing missing information. Our team also transformed the census data into user-friendly formats, making it easier for NSOs to analyze and use.
In addition to these technical efforts, we facilitated census tabulations and introduced practical tools, such as R Shiny applications, to speed up the data cleaning and analysis process. These tools allowed for faster detection and correction of data issues, supported by geospatial validations to ensure accuracy.
The outcome of these efforts was a set of clean, reliable census databases for each PICT, complete with comprehensive documentation. By reducing the data processing burden on NSOs, we helped enhance their capacity to manage census data more effectively.
