Articles / data-notes

Half the population, harder to count

نصف السكان وأصعب في الإحصاء

2026-07-26

Statistical systems miss women in patterned ways. Births of girls are registered less reliably in some regions. Household surveys often interview the male head, who rounds down the economic activity of everyone else. Women's farm work and home-based trade get classed as not working.

Sudan is no exception. Female labour participation looks low partly because of how the question is asked.

The fixes are known: interview women directly, count unpaid work, register every birth. None are exotic. Where surveys have adopted them, the recorded economy suddenly grows, because the real one was always bigger.