BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. The Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) member states will conduct their next
population censuses as close to 2030 as possible, following a
decision adopted at the CIS summit held in Turkmenistan today.
This was reflected in a press release published by the CIS
Executive Committee. The decision was signed by the heads of state
of the Commonwealth of Independent States during a meeting of the
CIS Council of Heads of State.
Under the decision, the governments of CIS countries are tasked
with supporting the UN World Population and Housing Census
Programme for the 2030 round, the publication says.
The Council of Heads of Statistical Services of CIS member
states is also expected to agree on a list of socioeconomic and
migration indicators to be included in national census programmes.
The list is to be approved in 2027 to ensure that census results
across the region can be compared.
The initiative follows the completion of the 2020 census round
in 2024. Across the CIS, national censuses were conducted in nine
of the ten member states, covering a total of 215 million people,
or approximately 85% of the Commonwealth's population.
In 2025, the United Nations approved the main documents for the
2030 World Population and Housing Census Programme.
To improve the comparability of national census results, the CIS
Statistical Committee proposed continuing the approach used during
the previous round. This includes harmonizing indicators for
measuring migration and the workforce, developing methodological
recommendations for census questionnaires, and establishing
standardized tables for exchanging data between member states.
