The population and housing census is part of an integrated national statistical system, which may include other censuses (for example, agriculture), surveys, registers and administrative files. It provides, at regular intervals, the benchmark for population count at national and local levels. For small geographical areas or sub-populations, it may represent the only source of information for certain social, demographic and economic characteristics. For many countries the census also provides a solid framework to develop sampling frames. This publication represents one of the pillars for data collection on the number and characteristics of the population of a country.

The handbook is one of the outputs of the Asian Development Bank regional technical assistance on Improving Administrative Data Sources for the Monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals Indicators. It serves as a reference tool for data producers on improving administrative data sources for compiling the Millennium Development Goals and other indicators. Drawing from the experiences of the five case study countries included in the technical assistance, namely, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam, the handbook combines theoretical issues in using administrative data with the practical problems faced in their use and provides recommendations to help improve administrative data systems. It also provides information on alternative data sources for compiling the Millennium Development Goals and other indicators.

Education in West Africa is a comprehensive critical reference guide to education in the region. Written by regional experts, the book explores the education systems of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It critically examines the development of education provision in each country, whilst exploring both local and global contexts. Including a comparative introduction to the issues facing education in the region as a whole, this handbook is an essential reference for researchers, scholars, international agencies and policy-makers at all levels.

This book presents the latest evidence from Young Lives, a unique international study of children and poverty. It shows how the persistence of inequality amid general economic growth is leaving some extremely poor children behind, despite the promises of the Millennium Development Goals.