University of Dar es Salaam Institute of Statistics, Nov 2003 Gunnar Thorvaldsen Norwegian Historical Data Centre Household Structure and the Census
1801 in Denmark, Iceland and Norway World’s first census? Completely digitized N & DK can be searched No common interface No birthplace When is a census, a census? Goyer (1986): 1. National legal authority 2. Defined enumeration area 3. Complete coverage 4. Simultaneous enumeration 5. Individual enumeration 6. Periodic enumeration 7. Publication of results 8. Dissemination of results
27Tussøen FirstLast nameSexFamilyMarital stat OccupationYearPlace of birth Hans Hagerup BroxMHfGFarmer Fisher1827 SaraBroxKHfGFarmer wife1845 AlbertBroxMSUSon1874 EdevardBroxMSUSon1877 NekolaiBroxMSUSon1885 AnneGunders.KTjUServant girl 1860Lenvik 27Tussøen JohanneBroxKHmEGrocer’s widow, farmer 1836Tromsø RegineBroxKDUDaughter1875 ElseAnders.KTjUServant girl1876 7TussøenJ Hans A.BroxMHfGFarmer Fisher 1833 MargretheBroxKHmGFarmer’s wife 1841Berg i Senjen Tr Else M.BroxKDUDaughter1873 DanielBroxMSUSon1874 HaakonBroxMSUSon1884 Hans M.BroxMSUSon1886 JohanneBroxKDUDaughter1869 MagnhildOls.KPldUStep daughter1897 KarolineKarls.KPldUStep daughter1891 MetteØyenKTjUServant girl1879Tromsøsund LorentineKaresius.KForsør.UPoor relief1840 EdvardAntons.MHfGFisher, lodger1873Tromsøsund DortheaBroxKHmGLodgerwife1879 TrygveJohans.MSUSon Tussøy 1900
Census microdata:
NAPP North Atlantic Population Project Britain mill Canada mill USA mill Iceland Norway mill mill Integrated with constructed variables
IPUMS international Minnesota Population Center Future additions: Brazil, China, Hungary, Spain IPUMS Latin America Other countries pending Strict confidentiality rules Registered users
Extraction system
On a millennial scale, censuses and census microdata survive for only a short, but significant period
The population census goes global Coverage becomes universal Content becomes uniform Decennial censuses become the norm
Increasingly uniform, principal source on population
Preserve against accident, deterioration and technological obsolescence » Microdata: - transfer to stable media - use standard data storage protocols - entrust copies with at least two depositories » Metadata: collect, catalogue, and reproduce - Enumeration forms (preserve all versions used) - Enumerator and data processing instructions - Codebooks (photocopies and scanned images) - Technical studies, evaluations, reports (UN Statistical Division: entire archive deposited, being scanned)
Globalization of the census & the coming census microdata revolution Globalization of the census & the coming census microdata revolution » 1. Census microdata: the historical NAPP project » 2. The population census went global in 20th century: coverage, periodicity, and content » 3. Liberating census microdata: preservation, anonymization, integration, & dissemination » 4. Statistical confidentiality and census samples: a 36 year-long perfect record » 5. International norms of statistical confidentiality » 6. Harmonizing and disseminating scientifically anonymized census samples on the Internet