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Symposium 2001/23 11
July 2001 English only
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Symposium on Global Review of 2000
Round of
Population and Housing Censuses:
Mid-Decade Assessment
and Future Prospects
Statistics Division
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations Secretariat
New York, 7-10 August 2001
Statement from Suriname*
Iwan
A. Sno
**
Suriname’s
General Bureau of Statistics (GBS) started preparing in January 1995 for the
census it expected to conduct in 2000. However, after elections in 1996, it
turned out that the newly elected government had no intention whatsoever to
leave the General Bureau of Statistics[1]
in charge of Census 2000, and a period of hostilities, especially in the media,
emerged. This ended with our adversary in the Home Office, who was responsible
for the continuous population register, being appointed General Leader (NCO) of
the sixth population and housing census. After political unrest in May 1999,
the government had to agree to hold early elections in May 2000, and after the
newly elected government was formed in August 2000, the President of the
country discharged the NCO and appointed the Director of Statistics as NCO[2].
As the previous NCO refused to step down, the matter ended in court, and in May
2001, the previous NCO was convicted and ordered to step down and hand over
everything to his successor.
The following remarks
are influenced by the results of a consultation and discussion meeting hosted
by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the UNDP sub-office in
Paramaribo on 5 June 2001.
1.
Strategies for involving stakeholders in census activities
The GBS started
with an internal committee (ASAVT-6) and has produced several drafts of the
questionnaires, a census budget and a plan of activities (in particular
regarding the fieldwork exercise). It has planned a double strategy for
reckoning with the interests of all stakeholders, as follows:
·
Starting from the constraints side, the following issues were
considered: interviewer load, respondent burden (duration of an interview,
etc.), cost (duration of field period, amount of paper needed and cost for
processing a very long questionnaire) and comparability with previous national
censuses and with current regional censuses. Everyone involved will have to be
convinced that the census questionnaire can have only a certain maximum length
and once that has been achieved, there can be no more additions.
·
It was made known to all stakeholders that suggestions for topics to be
included in the census questionnaire were welcome (actually the GBS has been
receiving quite a number of requests). At first an “overcomplete” census
questionnaire will be drafted, and then it will be trimmed. Those involved
(especially Parliament, which needs to approve the questionnaire) will have to
be convinced that the main purpose of the census is to provide the baseline
data and, with regard to the overcomplete questionnaire, that in-depth
follow-up surveys will be conducted to deal with other topics of interest. We
will particularly stress the differences between a census and a survey.
2.
Strategies for choosing among data-collection methods
In Suriname the
conduct of censuses is stipulated by law. So far there is no other means of
testing the adequacy of the continuous population register (one of the purposes
of the population census) in Suriname. Using administrative records would
involve assumptions—e.g., that they are reasonably complete or that their
defects are known and can be corrected. Rolling samples have been looked at
slightly but are not considered a serious option.
3.
Adapting new technologies to census operations
The only
considerations of the GBS for this issue (in order of importance) were:
·
The choice between scanning and data keying. For Suriname’s coming
census, the choice was made to go with data keying;
·
The possible application of statistical quality control to census
operations (not yet resolved); and
·
Whether printed publications should be supplemented by other means of
data dissemination (not yet resolved).
4.
Maintaining census-related activities during the intercensal years
The new Statistics Act that was drafted ensures that the
GBS is responsible for the population and housing census and most likely the
head of the Population Statistics Section will be the Deputy NCO. In the
establishment of the GBS there are provisions for a census officer and also in
the new draft statutes/charter of the GBS (which will become a foundation),
provisions have been made to ensure institutional memory and archiving of
census activities. So far, given the smallness of the population (not exceeding
500,000) and of the business community in Suriname, disclosure prevention has
been a major issue, so the census materials will remain located within the GBS.
The GBS has decided that it will both produce special tables on request and
provide samples of “anonymized”
records. Naturally, certain records will be blocked from being selected,
because even with anonymization certain combinations of variables will permit
disclosure.
5. Identifying and resolving problems of census
mapping
Since Suriname
conducted its last population census in 1980, the mapping situation in the
country warrants urgent remedial action. Proper mapping is of the essence for
securing complete coverage, for preventing duplication and for assigning
workloads to enumerators. Mapping is also important for follow-up survey
activities that will use the census as the baseline. Given cost and technical
constraints (e.g., regarding enlargements of images), discussions in Suriname
revolve around whether satellite imaging would be sufficient or whether aerial
photography is necessary. In previous censuses cartography was very weak,
especially regarding most areas of Suriname’s hinterland. Proper mapping will
also be beneficial to our plans for expanding coverage of our continuous
household survey.
6.
Post-enumeration surveys: are they worth it or not?
In Suriname so
far we have been unable to identify proper alternatives for PES’s to evaluate
coverage and content errors of the census. We are still of the opinion that
demographic analysis of the census and comparisons with administrative
statistics or results of household surveys can complement a proper PES but
cannot replace it. Discussions regarding the financial and management burden of
the PES, as well as on whether census results should be adjusted on the basis
of the PES are still going on.
A population and
housing census has often been called the largest and most expensive single
data-gathering statistical exercise in a country. It has to provide population
totals as well as some core population and housing characteristics by the
smallest geographical areas of the country.
Suriname’s General Bureau of Statistics plans to have the best population
and housing census ever in Suriname either in late 2002 or early 2003.
* This document was reproduced
without formal editing.
** Algemeen Bureau Voor de Statistiek, Suriname. The views
expressed in the paper are those of the author and do not imply the expression
of any opinion on the part of the United Nations Secretariat.
[1] In the censuses of 1964, 1972 and 1980 the highest official of the General Bureau of Statistics (in 1964 and 1972 the Director and in 1980 the Acting Deputy Director) was appointed General Leader of the census. As we pointed out to no avail to the previous government, in most countries of the world and in all Caricom members, the Director of Statistics is in charge of the census.
[2] Actually, this is a little trickier than it appears, as the obsolete Census Act (dating from 1949) stipulates that a person (not an official) must be appointed NCO. Hence Iwan A. Sno (Director of Statistics) was appointed.
