The administrative data from civil registration, when universal, is the preferred source of vital statistics in terms of accuracy, completeness and timeliness. Governments may need to adopt a phased approach to using civil registration records as a source of vital statistics by ensuring that information on currently registered vital events is compiled in a way to allow the production of vital statistics.
Example activities
- Providing ongoing training for statisticians in the production, dissemination and analysis of vital statistics;
- Introducing quality assurance frameworks for the production of vital statistics derived from civil registration;
- Promoting the use of vital statistics to support decisions in areas of social, economic and health policy, and monitoring progress towards national and internationally agreed development goals;
- Integrating CRVS improvement into the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics, if one exists;
- Introducing operational procedures including a data release calendar;
- Using information technology for the speedy compilation, analysis and publication of vital statistics derived from civil registration;
- Taking measures to make vital statistics readily accessible to users, including through issuing summaries and policy briefs, and publishing vital statistics on the Web.