Constructing Sociodemographic Indicators for National Statistical Institutes by Using Mobile Phone Data: Estimating Literacy Rates in Senegal

Summary Modern systems of official statistics require the accurate and timely estimation of sociodemographic indicators for disaggregated geographical regions. Traditional data collection methods such as censuses or household surveys impose great financial and organizational burdens on national statistical institutes. The rise of new information and communication technologies offers promising sources to mitigate these shortcomings. We propose a unified approach for national statistical institutes in developing countries based on small area estimation that allows for the estimation of sociodemographic indicators by using mobile phone data. In particular, the methodology is applied to mobile phone data from Senegal for deriving subnational estimates of the share of illiterates disaggregated by gender. The estimates are used to identify hotspots of illiterates with a need for additional infrastructure or policy adjustments. Although we focus on literacy as a particular sociodemographic indicator, the approach proposed is applicable to indicators from national statistics in general.