Introduction
The Self-Assessment Tool on Readiness to Use Administrative Data for Census (SATRAC) is designed to assist countries in comprehensive self-assessment of their current institutional and technical capacity for utilizing administrative data sources in their population and housing censuses.
SATRAC highlights key requirements to help countries understand to what extent their current capacity is aligned with these requirements. It does NOT intend to generate an overall readiness score for countries.
SATRAC specially aims to help National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and relevant administrative data holders (ADHs) to:
- identify areas of strength, weakness and shortcomings;
- evaluate the progress made over time in the institutional and technical capacity
- to enhance communication between NSOs and ADHs by building a common ground
Furthermore, SATRAC can provide valuable information for developing and/or updating the roadmaps for the transition towards register-based censuses, prioritizing actions and identifying potential risks.
Background
SATRAC was initially developed by ESCAP in April 2023 as part of the efforts to support countries in their smooth transition toward a register-based census. It underwent pilot testing during several relevant events, including the Regional Training Workshop on Transition to Register-based Approaches for Population and Housing Censuses, Ankara, Türkiye (12-15 June 2023); the Regional Workshop on the Use of Administrative Data Sources for Population and Housing Censuses; Suzhou, China (23-27 September 2024); and the ECE Workshop on Population and Housing Censuses; Geneva, Switzerland (30 September – 01 October 2024). To engage a broader statistical community and census experts in reviewing SATRAC, ESCAP also conducted an online global consultation from December 2024 to January 2025. The tool was then refined based on feedback received through these events and consultations.
SATRAC was officially launched during a virtual side event at the 56th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission on 20 February 2025. The launch event featured a panel discussion with experts from across the globe, who shared their knowledge and experiences on using administrative data in censuses and discussed how SATRAC can support this process.
Acknowledgement
ESCAP highly appreciates the close collaboration and invaluable contributions of experts from countries and international organizations in piloting and improving the tool through these events and the Global Consultation. This includes representatives from over 50 countries across the globe as well as international organizations, including EUROSTAT, the Pacific Community (SPC), United Nations Regional Commissions, the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and the World Bank.
SATRAC, from its initial development in April 2023 to its official launch in February 2025, was supported through:
- China-ESCAP Cooperation Programme (CECP)
Project: "Strengthening the statistical capacity of member States in the transition towards register-based population and housing censuses" - China-UNFPA South-South Collaboration Project
Project: "Building resilient capacities for census and population data in the Asia and Pacific region through South-South Collaboration" - Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative (D4H)
Project: "Supporting improvements to civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in Asia and the Pacific (Phase III)" - United Nations Development Accounts Tranche 14 (DA14)
Workstream: "Improving the resilience of population and housing censuses in developing countries through the use of administrative sources"
ESCAP extends its sincere gratitude to all individuals and organisations that contributed to the translation of SATRAC, including:
- UNFPA China for their support in the Chinese translation,
- UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (EECA RO) for their contribution to the Russian translation, and
- Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and Qatar Statistics for their support in the Arabic translation
- Statistics Canada for their contribution to the French translation, and
- Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for their support in the Spanish translation