The usefulness of Geo-referenced dwelling frames for census cartography during the 2010: round of population and housing census in Africa

Abstract

The building of dwelling frames to serve as the basis for creating enumeration areas for surveys and censuses, where every building is marked by a unique geographic coordinate, is a relatively new concept in Africa as far as census cartography is concerned. The cartographic exercises of previous rounds of censuses in Africa relied much on the traditional census cartographic method. The approach to developing geo-referenced dwelling frames by some African countries in the 2010 round, has drastically changed census cartographic methodology in areas including, and not limited to: the use of mobile devices, satellite imagery and Global Positioning System; sampling frames, address register and field verification methods. The enumeration area demarcation, office demarcation, office updating and office corrections as well as distinguishing settlement types and differentiating enumeration areas has improved. The present paper aims to raise awareness of the benefits of dwelling frames in dealing with timeliness and data quality issues, which will encourage and provide the basis for policy dialogue on the use of the technology between decision makers, geospatial information specialists, and other stakeholders. It will eventually enhance the use of census cartographic goods and services, which will improve the quality of data that are generated from censuses and surveys.