Geospatial data is increasingly used as census modernization advances within population data systems worldwide. It is UNFPA’s aim to expand access to software and related guidelines for using these data most effectively for development, disaggregation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNFPA’s Technical Division’s Population and Development Branch is committed to increasing the availability of both commercial (ArcGIS) and open-source (Q-GIS) GIS software and guidelines for UNFPA and our partner governments. This manual provides technical guidance on digital mapping, and analysis with QGIS, one of the most widely used free and open-source GIS packages. The manual covers all stages of digital mapping, including plotting of households within Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), creation of administrative boundaries, production of supervisor and enumerator maps, basic spatial analysis, and image processing; it also ensures that UNFPA provides National Statistical Offices and other partners with an alternative to commercial software for digital cartography in censuses and surveys.
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