Myanmar seeks public support for 2014 census

Myanmar's Minister for Immigration and Population U Khin Yi Sunday urged the public to cooperate in the nationwide census in 2014 for working out a national development plan.

The 12-day census using a work force of 120,000 would be carried out from March 30 to April 10, 2014, reported Xinhua citing the minister.

The census would be based on statistics from 14 regions or states covering 70 districts, 330 townships, 3,051 wards, 64,346 villages and 13,620 village-tracts inhabited by 135 nationalities with five major religious faiths.

According to Khin Yi, of the expected cost of $58.5 million for the census, Myanmar government has committed $15 million and the United Nations pledged $5 million for materials and courses, leaving a fund shortage of $38.5 million.

Experts from 13 countries as well as UN Statistics Division, UNFPA, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the World Bank would also help Myanmar in the process, another report said.