1 Emerging issues for the 2010 Round of Censuses in the ECE Region Angela Me UNECE Statistics Division

UNECE Statistical Division 2 Background information on the region It covers Europe, North America, Central Asia and Israel In the last 50 years the UNECE has issued Census Recommendations. In the last decades, the Recommendations have been jointly developed by UNECE and Eurostat

UNECE Statistical Division 3 The Recommendations for the 2010 Round The Work on the revision of the CES Recommendations is carried out by several thematic task forces coordinated by a Steering Group Issues presented here have been highlighted by the experts in these groups The suggestions for the “World Recommendations” are ECE views

UNECE Statistical Division 4 The Recommendations for the 2010 Round Based on suggestions from countries a new draft of the Recommendations is in the process of being finalized BUT there are still pending issues The draft will be discussed in December by census experts from countries The draft will be considered for adoption by the CES in June 2006

UNECE Statistical Division 5 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations New methodology section Revision of the essential census features Description of different census methods Integrity Quality assurance Evaluation Dissemination Consultation Publicity campaign New technology section

UNECE Statistical Division 6 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations Migration New heading, definition of some population of interest How to treat countries recently formed countries and countries where the boarder have recently changed Definition of Refugee population and Internally Displaced Population (as derived topics) by the break of other countries Revision of the essential census features Definition of population To include refugees and asylum seekers To include illegal immigrants

UNECE Statistical Division 7 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations Usual residence One-year rule (with intention?)+most of daily night rest rule Pending: how to treat students and particularly foreign students Education Clarify the distinction between attendance and enrolment (difficult to do for tertiary education) To expand on literacy and mention functional literacy Attainment as highest level New concept of computer literacy

UNECE Statistical Division 8 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations Economic characteristics Add text on the use of different sources and on the different results that may be obtained from surveys and census New topic on time-related underemployment New topic on informal employment (non-core) Clarify that “source of livelihood” can not be used to assess activity status Families and Households Add same sex couples in classifications of legal and de facto marital status, relationship to the reference person, and family Add definition of homeless Describe the different methods to construct the household: relationship to one reference person, relationship matrix, partial matrix, and birth information Pending: treatment of households with children and grandparents, without the parents but with other members of the mid-generation

UNECE Statistical Division 9 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations Ethno cultural characteristics Add text on the free declaration of ethnic affiliation Pending: allow for multiple answers? Commuting New heading including location of place of work-school, length of journey, and mode of transport Unpaid volunteer work New heading and improvement in the definition

UNECE Statistical Division 10 Emerging issues for the CES Recommendations Disability New topic In line with the Washington Group and the European Health Module The use of the census for screening Agriculture New topic Individual and household level topics with (?) preference to the individual level Housing New framework with the concept of living arrangements New concept: Overcrowding (to include floor space or number of rooms) Add Accessibility to dwellings

UNECE Statistical Division 11 Definition of census Output oriented definition Census defined as the operation that produce at regular intervals the official counting of the population (benchmark) in the territory of the country and its smallest geographical sub-territories together with information on a selected number of social and demographic characteristics of this population.

UNECE Statistical Division 12 Essential features (Draft) Individual enumeration Information on each enumerated person and living quarter is obtained so that their characteristics can be separately recorded. This allows cross-classifying the various characteristics and obtaining data by more then one characteristic.

UNECE Statistical Division 13 Essential features (Draft) Specific reference period/ Simultaneity/ Unique reference period Information obtained on individuals and living quarters in a census should refer to a well-defined and unique reference period. Ideally data on all individuals and living quarters should be collected simultaneously. However, if data are not collected simultaneously, adjustment should be made so that the final data have the same reference period

UNECE Statistical Division 14 Essential features (Draft) Comprehensive results/ Comprehensiveness/ Universality/ Benchmark/ Full coverage The population and housing census should provide data on the total number of persons, households and housing units within a precisely defined territory of a country. The counting (or benchmarking) of the population should include every person residing in the defined territory of a country.

UNECE Statistical Division 15 Essential features (Draft) Small-areas data The census should produce data on the number and characteristics of the population and housing related to the smallest geographic areas of the country consistent with protecting individual confidentiality.

UNECE Statistical Division 16 Essential features (Draft) Defined periodicity The census should be taken at regular intervals so that comparable information is made available in a fixed sequence. It is recommended that census data be produced at least every ten years.

UNECE Statistical Division 17 Essential features (Draft) Independent quality check The data provided by the census on the counting of the basic units should be validated with an independent quality check of the coverage.

UNECE Statistical Division 18 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Migration

UNECE Statistical Division 19 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Migration To add topics on: country of birth of parents citizenship acquisition (now a para in the topic on citizenship) ever resided abroad (to identify the international migrants as defined by the UN Recommendations on International Migration Statistics)

UNECE Statistical Division 20 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Migration To specify how to treat migrants in countries where there was a recent change in the boarders

UNECE Statistical Division 21 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Ethno-cultural characteristics To stress the free declaration of ethnicity and the need to include “non-declared” as one of the option Debate if respondents should have the option to declare more than one ethnic affiliation

UNECE Statistical Division 22 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Total Population To stress the inclusion of: refugees asylum seekers illegal immigrants If they fulfil the criteria of de-jure or de facto agreed in the census

UNECE Statistical Division 23 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Education Emphasize the distinction between attendance and enrolment Mention the notion of functional literacy Include the presence in the household of a computer and internet connection

UNECE Statistical Division 24 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Employment Add informal employment as a topic recognizing the difficulties in collecting information on this topic in a census Add explanations on why different results (particularly for unemployment) can be obtained between LFS and census

UNECE Statistical Division 25 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? Families and Households To include co-habitant couples (including same-sex couples) in the framework of household/family composition and relationship to the reference person To mention the relationship matrix as a tool to identify the household composition

UNECE Statistical Division 26 What could be relevant for the “World Recommendations”? General To include issues related to: avoiding the non statistical use of the census quality assurance clarify different methods to conduct a census outsourcing