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.
