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Report on the Results of a Survey on Census Methods used by Countries in the 2010 Census Round

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:40:48 GMT

By United Nations Statistics Division, 2011.

In 2009 and early 2010, the United Nations conducted a survey to collect information on methods used by countries or areas in the planning and implementation of their 2010 round population and housing censuses. The survey also collected information on challenges that countries or areas faced or expect to face in the implementation of their censuses for the 2010 round as well as on aspects of the census process in which they may have expertise. The questionnaire used for conducting the survey had 28 questions seeking information on: (i) source of population and housing census data; (ii) cartography; (iii) method(s) of enumeration; (iv) census evaluation; (v) data processing; (vi) data dissemination; (vii) census budget and source of funding; and (viii) technical assistance required and areas of expertise. This report presents the main results of this survey.

[Working paper: UNSD/DSSB/1]

Data dissemination: Comparison between Census software packages

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:34:30 GMT

By DevInfo Support Group and United Nations Statistics Division, 2011.

This document compares in a table format several census software packages in the context of data dissemination. The table includes the following software: CensusInfo, DevInfo, CsPro (Census and Survey Processing System), Redatam (REtrieval of DATa for small Areas by Microcomputer), SPSS and SAS.

Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Rev. 2

Jan Beise — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:05:21 GMT

By United Nations Statistics Division, 2008.

Since its earliest years, the United Nations has issued a series of international principles and recommendations on population and housing censuses to assist national statistical offices and census officials, throughout the world, in planning and carrying out improved and cost-effective censuses.

The Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2 is divided into three parts: Part One - Operational aspects of population and housing censuses – covers mainly issues of census planning and management; Part Two – Topics for population and housing censuses – includes topics as well as their definitions and classification for both population and housing; and Part Three – Census products and data utilizations – is aimed at enhancing the dissemination and utilization of census data. The publication also contains a set of recommended tabulations on population and housing that every country is should produce at least once during the 2010 census round. There are also additional tabulations that countries may produce depending on their needs.

Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.07.XVII.8), 2008.

[available in English, Arabic, Russian]

Botswana 2011 Population and Housing Census Project Document

Jan Beise — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:06:10 GMT

By Central Statistics Office, Botswana, 2009.

The CSO in collaboration and support from UNFPA embarked on the development
of a comprehensive Census Project Document that will also serve as source for
support and resource mobilization for all processes of the 2011 Census undertaking.
Botswana has a tradition of preparing project documents for the census. Census
project documents have been prepared for the 2001, 1991 and 1981 censuses. It is
hoped that the document will assist in resource mobilisation especially from
development partners to participate in this massive project during the current global
economic challenges.
This Document covers the evaluation of the 2001 census processes, the expected
structure of the 2011 National Census Secretariat, roles and responsibilities of
different census committees, the institutional capacity assessment of the CSO for a
successful conduct of the census in order to find response to needs’ requirements
and to proactively fill the gaps. The project document also provides different
strategies as census implementation guide and the needed Technical Assistance.
The Document provides recommendations to be implemented for the success of the
2011 Census.

The European dissemination of 2011 census results

Jan Beise — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:51:00 GMT

By the Statistical Office of the European Communities, 2009.

In 2008, the European Parliament and the Council adopted legislation that, for the first time in history, provides a framework to produce and disseminate comparable census data for all European Union (EU) Member States. This information will be of great value to policy making, administration, businesses and the EU citizens. It will not only support EU-wide activities, but will make it easier for people acting nationally or even regionally to see their situation as part of the larger European picture.

The EU legislation on censuses is "output oriented". It does not prescribe a specific methodology how the Member States have to conduct their censuses. The responsibility to develop appropriate census methodology and technology remains with the Member States (no "input harmonisation"). However, the EU legislation aims at a dissemination of census data thatare comparable between the EU Member States. The data have to:
(a) follow transparent concepts, definitions and specifications;
(b) be of sufficient quality and subject to a quality reporting;
(c) follow a European programme of statistical data (hypercubes) and metadata, andbe accessible via a user-friendly dissemination format.
To achieve this, the European Commission shall adopt different "implementing regulations".

Paper presented at the joint UNECE/Eurostat meeting on Population and Housing Censuses, Geneva, 28-30 October 2009.

Determining user needs for the 2011 UK Census

Jan Beise — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:47:00 GMT

By the Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom, 2009.

A Census is a complex and costly undertaking and one that is only undertaken when it has been clearly shown that there is a need for it. Planning the Census is inevitably a long process, requiring many phases and it is vital that consultation takes place with a wide range of census users to determine their needs for data. This paper sets out the strategy adopted in the United Kingdom for ascertaining users' needs for information to be collected in the Census,focusing on topics and output geography, and assesses this against the scope and design ofconsultations as set out in the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) Recommendations forthe 2010 round of European censuses. The paper concludes by noting the key decisions in thedesign of the 2011 Census that have been made following user consultation to date.

Paper presented at the joint UNECE/Eurostat meeting on Population and Housing Censuses, Geneva, 28-30 October 2009.

Meeting the needs of Census users in the United Kingdom’s private sector

Jan Beise — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:44:00 GMT

By United Kingdom, 2000.

Commercial companies in the United Kingdom are major users of Census information fortargeting customers and making business decisions. Like other user communities, there are some Census specialists, but many more occasional users. Relationships between the Census Offices and their private sector customers are good, and plans for 2011 are progressing well, but much remains to be done. Potential improvements are also identified.

Paper presented at the joint UNECE/Eurostat meeting on Population and Housing Censuses, Geneva, 28-30 October 2009.

Estimation of mortality using the South African Census 2001 data

Administrator — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:43:00 GMT

By R. Dorrington, T.A. Moultrie and I.M. Timaeus, Centre for Actuarial Research, University of Cape Town, 2004.

Estimation of mortality in South Africa has always been problematic. While reasonably accurate life tables have been computed for the Coloured, Indian and White population groups, mortality rates for the African population, and the South African population as a whole, have always been fairly approximate. Nonetheless it would appear from the official life tables and estimates of mortality derived from reconstruction of census populations that mortality in South Africa fell for many decades prior to the early to mid—1980s.

The release of the 2001 census data provides an opportunity to update our estimates of mortality and decide if these past trends have continued through the intercensal period and, in particular, measure whether mortality has increased in line with predictions of the impact of HIV on mortality.

The overall conclusion must be that the data on mortality collected by the 2001 census are disappointing and that the editing of those data does little to improve them. In the case of children the data are so poor as to be useless for deriving reliable estimates of childhood mortality. As far as adults are concerned, the data are more useful.

This report was prepared for Statistics South Africa.

Estimation of fertility from the 2001 South Africa Census data

Administrator — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:40:00 GMT

By T.A. Moultrie and R. Dorrington, Centre for Actuarial Research, University of Cape Town, 2004.

Fertility in South Africa has been falling for almost four decades. The 2001 South Africa Census offers the opportunity to reflect on this decline, and to assess the trajectory and patterns of fertility in the country, among its population groups and in its provinces.

The derivation of robust and reliable fertility rates is a worthwhile endeavour in its own right and represents the major portion of the present work, but to do so requires that this reportdiscusses the quality of the data collected in the 2001 census at some length. We identify (and correct for) several significant anomalies in the data collected in the 2001 census. The two errors that give rise to the greatest concern are, first, the apparent inability of the census to capture accurately all births that occurred in the preceding twelve months, and second, the data on the number of children born to women of reproductive age are seriously deficient. All indications are that this was a result of inadequate (or incorrect) training of enumerators.

This report was prepared for Statistics South Africa.

Presentation of population and housing censuses in Slovakia on the website

Jan Beise — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:11:00 GMT

By Infostat, Slovak Republic, 2007.

This paper describes a census data dissemination project implemented in Slovakia. The purpose of the project was to enhance the knowledge of domestic and foreign general audience and professionals about modern population and housing censuses realised in Slovakia by means of the Internet.

The objectives of the project are:
a) to present detailed results and other related basic information (legislation, census scope, historical context, questionnaires, processing technologies, maps...) concerning population and housing censuses conducted in the area of Slovakia in 1921, 1930, 1950, 1961, 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2001;
b) to increase the accessibility and comprehensibility of data by presenting data and other relevant documents in one place and in a unified form;
c) to increase the attractiveness of census results by presenting them in various forms like tables, diagrams, and maps;
d) to provide the possibility to compare selected indicators in their historical context (the website contains time series, some of which start as early as in 1848);
e) to create an open scalable application allowing its trouble-free expansion in the future;
f) to make the results available to the international community (creating the English mutation of the presentation).

Paper presented at the "Meeting on the Management of Statistical Information System" jointly organised by UNECE and EUROSTAT, Geneva, 8-10 May 2007).

Utilization of the 2000 Census data in Thailand

Jan Beise — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:20:00 GMT

By National Statistical Office, Thailand, 2003

This paper describes various areas for which the data of the 2000 Population and Housing Census in Thailand was used, including developmental planning and evaluation, population projection, poverty mapping, and others.

Paper presented at the 21th Population Census Conference, Analysis of the 2000 Round of Censuses, Kyoto, Japan, 19 - 21 November 2003.

Utilization of the 2001 Population Census data of Nepal

Jan Beise — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:02:00 GMT

Paper by Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal

Population censuses are taken to obtain information on the state of the population at a given point of time. It gives an opportunity to find out the total number of inhabitants for an area. The 2001 population census data of Nepal have been utilized in various fields of socio−economic sectors. It has been used to develop a set of benchmark data for different purposes. It has also provided datafor small administrative areas of the country on population, housing and household facilities. The 2001 census data have been used to prepare frames for censuses and surveys. Sex disaggregated data on several topics included in the census have been helpful to address the current gender issues. It has provided detailed information on special groups like women, children, the aged and the disabled along with information on caste and ethnic groups of the country. These data have been extensively used by several interest groups for advocacy as well as for planning and monitoring purposes.

Paper presented at the 23rd Population Census Conference "Utilization of the 2000 and 2005 Rounds of Asia-Pacific Censuses", Christchurch, New Zealand, 16-18 April 2007.

Role of census data & population in disaster management

Jan Beise — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:11:00 GMT

This paper by Inderjit Claire of the private geospatial and information technology company RMSI explicates the relationship between census data and disaster management and preparedness. It stresses the importance of having accurate and complete information on population distribution in order to mitigate the devastation caused by natural disasters. It discusses the data required for vulnerability mapping (calculating the effect of a hazard withrespect to the assets and the population of the affected area), the role of census data in disaster management, and the use of geospatial and remote sensing technologies as a tool when reliable data is not available. The paper describes a case study based on the use of Geographical Information System (GIS).

Paper presented at the Sub-regional Workshop on Census Cartography and Management Bangkok, Thailand, 15 – 19 October 2007 - organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2010 Censuses of Population and Housing

Margaret Mbogoni — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:01:00 GMT

The main objectives of the CES Recommendations for the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses are: ( i) to provide guidance and assistance to countries in the planning and conducting of their population and housing census; ( ii) to facilitate and improve the comparability of the data at regional level through the selection of a core set of census topics1 and the harmonization of definitions and classifications.

The first part of the publication (Part One) presents two chapters on census methodology and technology. The objective is not to recommend a specific method or a technology, but rather to present the different approaches with their advantages and disadvantages and guide countries to make the best choice that fits their national circumstances. These chapters are complemented by additional material presented in various appendices. The second and third parts of the publication present respectively population topics (Part Two) and housing topics (Part Three). The Recommendations aim to describe the different census topics that are relevant for the region presenting not only definitions and standards but also analyzing their relevance and their comparative advantage in relation to other census topics and other data collection activities outside the census. The topics are presented using a structure by theme (demographic, migration, ethno-cultural characteristics, etc.) to facilitate a broader view in the description of the content of a census.

Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2010 Censuses of Population and Housing (United Nations publication, ECE/CES/STAT/NONE/2006/4), New York and Geneva, 2006

[Also available in French and Russian]

Maintaining census-related activities during intercensal years

Jan Beise — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:39:00 GMT

This paper by the Statistical Office of India describes and discusses several census-related activities during intercensal years. The paper argues that intercensal activities lend a continuity to census operations and contribute towards an effective and efficient programme for the next census. The main intercensal activities are:

(1) completion of dissemination;
(2) completion of printing and publication;
(3) provision of services to data users;
(4) continuous updating of jurisdictional changes as an advance preparation for the next census;
(5) carrying out population surveys, household surveys and methodological studies;
(6) maintenance of a census library containing census publications and electronic products (e.g., CD-ROMs);
(7) preservation of essential maps and records and destroying filled-in questionnaires after data processing under proper supervision if data have been entered fully;
(8) documenting census activities in administrative reports and retaining multiple copies of all essential census instructions, circulars and questionnaires for reference and guidance in the next census;
(9) continuously updating digitized maps for use in the next census;
(10) retaining the census office (at least in a skeleton form with necessary staff) during the intercensal period; and
(11) updating the census frame for the purpose of sampling.

Paper presented at the Symposium on Global Review of 2000 Round of Population and Housing Censuses: Mid-Decade Assessment and Future Prospects, New York, 7-10 August 2001.

Population and Housing Census in Viet Nam

Jan Beise — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:20:00 GMT

The paper presents experience from the 1999 census of Viet Nam, including strong and weak points.

Paper presented at the ASEAN Meeting on the 2010 round of Population and Housing Census, Siem Reap (Cambodia), 31 July - 2 August 2006.

Handbook on Census Management for Population and Housing Censuses

Jan Beise — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:03:00 GMT

This publication is a reference document on management aspects of conducting a population and housing census. It provides guidance on how to

(i) develop a structure able to effectively manage the census planning and operational processes;
(ii) plan all the process that need to be considered in establishing a census; and
(iii) design control and monitoring processes.

The structure of the handbook reflects as closely as possible the census cycle. The initial chapters discuss management aspects concerning the planning and preparatory stages, followed by discussions on the operational stages (i.e. field operations and processing), dissemination of census results, and finally evaluation. The publication is also useful to those who need to plan surveys given the detailed description of the overall process of collecting, processing, and disseminating the data.

Handbook on Census Management for Population and Housing Censuses, Series F, No.83/Rev. 1 (United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.00.XVII.15), 2001.

[online also available in Arabic]

Population and Housing Census in Sierra Leone

Jan Beise — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:30:00 GMT

The paper presents the experience from the 2004 census in Sierra Leone as well as plans for the 2014 census including problems anticipated.

The paper was prepared in the context of the “United Nations Workshop on the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses, Maputo, Mozambique, 30 October – 2 November 2006”.

Population and Housing Censuses in the UNESCAP region

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:22:00 GMT

This paper by Lene Mikkelsen of the United Nations Economic and Social Commissionfor Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) describes the experience of countries in the region with regard to the 2000 round of censuses as well as plans for the next round. The paper is based on a survey conducted by UNESCAP in preparation of the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses to assess meta information and plans with regard to censuses in the Asia-Pacific region.

Paper presented at the United Nations Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses, New York, 13-14 September 2004.

Population and Housing Census in Malaysia

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:01:00 GMT

The paper by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) presents the experience from the 2000 census in Malaysia as well the preparatory work undertaken for the 2010 Census.

Paper presented at the ASEAN Meeting on the 2010 round of Population and Housing Census, Siem Reap (Cambodia), 31 July - 2 August 2006. as preparations for the 2010 census.

Population and Housing Census in Jamaica

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:57:00 GMT

This paper by Valerie Nam of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica presents the experiences from the 2000 census decade.

Paper presented at the United Nations Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses, New York, 13-14 September 2004.

Population and Housing Census in Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:44:00 GMT

The paper by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic presents the experience from the 2005 census in Lao including strong and weak points.

Paper presented at the ASEAN Meeting on the 2010 round of Population and Housing Census, Siem Reap (Cambodia), 31 July - 2 August 2006.

Population and Housing Census in Brunei Darussalam

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:37:00 GMT

The paper by Brunei Darussalam presents activities for the 2001 census of Brunei Darussalam, including the strong and weak points.

Paper presented at the ASEAN Meeting on the 2010 round of Population and Housing Census, Siem Reap (Cambodia), 31 July - 2 August 2006.

Population and Housing Census in Cambodia

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:37:00 GMT

This paper by Cambodia presents the experience of the 1998 census in Cambodia as well as preparations for the 2008 census.

Paper presented at the ASEAN Meeting on the 2010 round of Population and Housing Census, Siem Reap (Cambodia), 31 July - 2 August 2006.

Broad dissemination strategy

Jan Beise — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:00:00 GMT

The presentation by Petteri Baer (UNECE) stresses the importance of an broad dissemination strategy for census data and gives examples for identifying different users of data as well as their data needs.

Presentation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Training Workshop on the Management of Population and Housing Censuses in SPECA Member countries, Baku (Azerbaijan), 30 October-3 November 2006.

[available also in Russian]