Country Profile of Zambia
Main statistical agency
Main statistical agency name
Central Statistical Office (CSO)
Web address
www.zamstats.gov.zm
Position in the government
The Department of Census and Statistics, commonly known, as the Central Statistical Office (CSO), is a Government Department under the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MFNP). The department is responsible for coordinating all statistical activities in the country and is a major source of official statistics.
Under the Public Sector Reform Programme (PSRP) it was felt that the CSO should be transformed into an Autonomous Agency. This was to make it self accountable and responsive to needs of users in a more effective and efficient manner. This process required that the Act under which the CSO operates be repealed and amended to take into account the added responsibilities.
Because of the lengthy procedural requirement to implement the transformation of CSO, it was in the interim re-structured under the Public Sector Reform Programme (PSRP). However, the idea of transforming it into a Autonomous Agency is on going and the draft amended Act is still being reviewed by relevant authorities. It is hoped that a new legal framework will be put in place this year (2004).
Organizational structure and finance
The CSO is currently headed by a Director and is divided into four broadly defined statistical subject-matter Divisions, namely:
o Economic and Financial Statistics Division;
o Social Statistics Division;
o Agriculture and Environment Statistics Division;
o Research, Dissemination and Data Processing Division
Each Division is headed by a Deputy Director who is responsible for respective sectoral statistical production. Divisions are further sub-divided into Branches and Sections. Besides the subject-matter Branches and Sections, there are Units which are referred to as Service Units and principally service the day-to-day operations of subject-matter Divisions. These are: Field Surveys; Administration; Transport; Accounts; Internal Audit; and Security.
CSO has its headquarters in Lusaka, along Nationalist Road opposite the University Teaching Hospital (UTH). The department also has offices in all the nine (9) provincial capitals of Zambia and some selected districts in each province. Provincial offices are mainly responsible for Data collection, Manual Editing and Data Entry.
Main duties
The main mission and goal of CSO is to provide for a comprehensive National Statistical Database yielding timely, relevant and high quality statistical information to institutions of the Government, Private sector and the wider national and international community CSO has the responsibility of promoting increased utilization of statistical information for effective decision making and informed debate on the economy by all major stakeholders.
Other producers of official statistics
Other producers of official statistics
Line ministries and institutions such as Bank of Zambia and Central Board of Health.
Data collection
Most recent population census
16 October 2000
Data confidentiality
The Census and Statistics Act Chapter 127 of the laws of Zambia provides for the confidentiality of data supplied by individual households/persons and establishments.
Data dissemination
Release calendar (existence, when and how published)
Generally there are no release calender available except for the regular Monthly Bulletin which is disseminated every last Thursday of the month.
Main publications
Available Publications
o Economic and Financial Statistics
o Social Statistics
o Agricultural and Pastoral Production: Structural Type and Post Harvest Data
2002/2003 For Small and Medium Scale Farmers
o Census 2000 population and Housing analytical reports
o Living Conditions Monitoring survey 2002/2003
o Selected Socio economic indicators 2000-2003
o External Trade Statistics Bulletin , 2004
o Zambia HIV/Aids Epidemiological Projections 1985-2010
o Food Security, Health and Nutrition Information System (FHANIS) 2003
o Consumer Price Index, January to December 2005
o Lake Mweru-Wa-ntipa Pilot Fishery Survey, September 2004
o GENERAL STATISTICS
Forth coming publications
o Living Conditions Monitoring Survey, 2004
o Selected Socio Economic Indicators, 2003-2004
o Zambia in Figures, 2003/2004
o
Languages of main publications
English
How are data disseminated (Paper, CD Rom, Website, online databases, databanks)?
Hard copy analytical reports, CD Rom, Website, and online databases
Availability of microdata for research purposes
Microdata on the following is available:
o Census of Population and Housing 2000 datasets
o Living Conditions Monitoring Survey datasets, latest being for the year 2004
o Agriculture post Harvest Survey data sets
|