Population Development

POPULATION DEVELOPMENT

UNFPA is the leading specialist UN specialist agency to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.
UNFPA helps to achieve a balance between social and economic development and population growth in countries.  The development strategy for Kyrgyzstan's population takes into account the interdependence between ecology, population growth and stable human development.
The UNFPA office opened in Kyrgyzstan in 1994 and is a part of the KATTYK region, which includes the Central Asian States, Azerbaijan and UNFPA Asian subdivision.
The states should be able to collect and analyse population data when they develop their programmes and take political decisions, which enables them to opportunely react to any dynamic population changes.
UNFPA helps governments to make their teams more qualified to collect and analyse data on population. The Fund also supports the carrying out of a population consensus and demographic research, in so far as they provide governments with vital information for the planning, monitoring and evaluation of their population and development politics. It also assists in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action.

 UNFPA Kyrgyzstan directives:

1. Preparation for a legislative base for population development

2. Concentrating the efforts of the ministries, departments, NGOs to eliminate gender inequality

3. Financing general population censuses as a basic source of information on the population

4. Support for the collection, development and analysis of demographic data in the period between population censuses

5. Conducting specialist social and demographic research and the publication of the results

6. Support for the maintenance of economic budgets

7. Support for the activity of the National Committee of Parliamentarians of the Kyrgyz Republic for Population

8. Organization of seminars, international conferences and consulting missions

9. Organization of long-term training courses for young scientists and statisticians at Moscow State University and prestigious academic institutions of other countries in the world

10. Opening of a Centre for Population Study at the Kyrgyz Russian Slavonic University (KRSU) and the introduction of a course in demography at KRU

The collection, analysis and spreading of data on the population is an important process in the development of effective politics and programmes

Information about the growth, movement, age characteristics, life conditions, territorial distribution and the material opportunities of the population is essential in order to rationally develop, plan and execute policies in a country. Linked to this the collection and analysis of data on the population and its development plays a paramount role. For the last two decades many countries have perceptively moved forward by their collection of data from censuses, demographic and specialist surveys and the creation of population registers. However, there is still much to be done about learning how to analyse and use the collected data for developing population development policies.

Policies require information about different aspects of the population and development in order to:

-         Evaluate demographic tendencies

-         Evaluate the social and economic situation of women

-         Develop policies, strategies and programmes on the population

-         Include population factors in development planning

-         Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policies, programmes and their progress in achieving national and international development goals

-         Increase awareness in government officials who take the decisions and of the general public about population issues

For a long time generating reliable data was a priority for UNFPA. For this the Fund works closely with the UN's statistic department and other agencies. Now as never before the successive and significant information plays an important role in concentrating the attention of the world association for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Developing countries have a tendency often to require an administrative census and individual information on the population. That is why it is very important for the governments and donors to conduct regular and periodical registers. However, in many countries there are not enough financial resources, political will or the capacity for carrying out censuses on a regular basis.

Although the census is carried out by the state, UNFPA gives technical support, including cartography, collection of information, analysis and the spreading of information. In several of the countries a census is the only source of information on the population and its characteristics and without such data it is impossible to develop state policy.

A census of the population and the housing fund is a paramount source of information on the size and the characteristics of the population in any locality, as it produces an inventory of a country's most important belonging: Its human capital.

Even in ancient time rulers carried out censuses of their people in order to assess their taxes and to recruit men for military service. In the middle of the fifties of the twentieth century key principles were established for a population census: Confidentiality (individual collection of information), universality (within the limits of a defined locality), simultaneousness (in a short space of time) and recurrence (on a regular basis).

A census is a basic selection, since it gives basic information on the population, which is very important in planning the economy. Up to now international definitions and classifications have been used which means the censuses can compare basic information with the population in Europe and also to keep up with implementing the ICPD's Plan of Action.