THE CIVIL STATE SOURCE OF IMPORTANT DATA IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS THE CIVIL STATE ESTABLISHED SINCE KINGDOM TIME UNTIL SOCIALISM ADVENT IN 1975 HAVE PROVIDED STEADY STATISTIC DATA AND HAVING NATIONAL COVER

PRESENTATION PLAN Timeliness and weakness of the informations coming from civil state - Timeliness - Weakness Development of the civil data exploitation - Situation before 1975 - Present situation Prospects

TIMELINESS The cost of civil event exploitation relatively lesser compared to classic survey cost The distribution of civil center is such as the system has theoretically a national cover At all time and if necessary civil data can be avalaible

WEAKNESS Unlike classic surveys vital statistics content oneself with avalaible data knowing for a fact that they are incomplete The statistic records the fundation for data exploitation in practice reach no more at statistic central and regional office for various reasons

SITUATION BEFORE 1975 From 1956 to 1975 statistic service have already published per year (situation on January the first) Statistics on births and deaths per province according to the age the sex the ethnic groups … Statistics on marriage Births per mother age Deaths of less than one year according to the mother age Etc … Brief, it was possible to do a thorough study of demographic situation in Madagascar before 1975

PRESENT SITUATION The administration on subprefecture’s level was left with the hands of choosen persons from 1975 - The subprefecture’s monographes have gradually disappeared - The statistic records on births deaths and other events reach no more at statistic central and regional office One of actions tending to give back a place of choice to national statistic system is the exploitation of registers on births and deaths at the 7 great urban centers – last 10 years – as well as the automation of event registration system (births, deaths, marriages, divorces)

PROSPECTS The automatic system of civil events registration put in place in civil offices of 3 great urban centers will be extended in first time to the other administrative centers of province It would be conceivable to extend the project to secondary towns equiped with electricity Nevertheless the problem remaines entire in so far as the majority of civil offices will not be concerned with the project