asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Northern Rhodesian Government intends to take a census of the African population and what are the reasons for a census not having been carried out earlier.

District commissioners in Northern Rhodesia have carried out an annual population count for many years. It was decided recently not to hold a simple census on normal lines but to undertake a detailed demographic survey based on a sample of villages. This inquiry, which was carried out in the latter part of 1950, will give numbers and rates of births and deaths as well as population estimates. The analysis of the results of the inquiry is not yet available.