The application of satellite imageries for preparation of enumeration area maps in one of the pastoral areas of Ethiopia has greatly improved the coverage of the 2007 Population and Housing Census. By adopting a digital approach through the use of satellite imagery, the Central Statistical Agency was able to provide data on pastoral area to policy makers in order to make better-informed decisions. Most obvious challenges of census undertaking the pastoral areas were inaccessibility, mobile nature of the dwellers, high level of illiteracy rate, and the vastness of the area. Effectiveness and accurateness of the census undertaking also improved by the utilization of scanning technology for data capturing and of GIS for data dissemination and data presentation.

Paper presented at the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), Durban (South Africa), August 2009.