1. Population and housing censuses
Danilo Dolenc, SURS
Ljubljana, April 2016
THE CONTRACTOR IS ACTING UNDER A FRAMEWORK CONTRACT CONCLUDED WITH THE COMMISSION

2. Census in your country Do you remember
Reference date of last census in your country
For EU countries should be in 2011
Your personnel response to census
Paper questionnaire filled by enumerator
Paper questionnaire filled by respondent (self-enumeration)
E-questionnaire filled by enumerator (CAPI)
Web questionnaire filled by respondent (CAWI)
No response

3. Census history Ancient civilizations counted people
Military reasons
Tax reasons (Romans every 5 years)
Modern censuses arose in 17-18th century
No info on first world census
In Slovenia the first one – 1857

4. Definition
Statistical survey with complete coverage of enumeration unit on the whole territory of a country on defined reference date
Persons
Households
Housing

5. Essential features Individual enumeration Simultaneity Small area data
Each enumeration unit should be recorded separately
Simultaneity
Well defined and short reference period
Small area data
Including data for small population groups
Regular periodicity
At least every ten years

6. Census topics - general (1)
Core topics
Should be collected by all countries
Strong and clear user need
Not available from other surveys or not available for small area and small population groups
Cross-tabulations are of major national importance
Allow time comparision despite modifications in term of definitions or categories

7. Census topics - general (2)
Non-core topics
Special need of a country
Could appear only in one census
To establish administrative register
If it is allowed by the law – but it is against fundamental principles of official statistics
Derived topics
Information obtained from one topic or from combination of two and more topics

8. Population topics (1) Population to be enumerated
The key element – definition of place of usual residence
Total population

9. Population topics (2) Demographic characteristics Sex Age
Legal marital status
De facto marital status
Live-born children

10. Population topics (3) Geographic characteristics Location
Location of place of work
Location of school
Mode of transport
Distance and time needed
Urban-rural areas
Degree of urbanization

11. Population topics (4) Economic characteristics Labour force status
Occupation
Industry
Status in employment
Institutional sector
Hours worked
Main source of livelihood
Income
Socio-economic group

12. Population topics (5) Educational characteristics
Educational attainment
Educational qualifications
Field of education
School attendance
Literacy
Computer literacy

13. Population topics (6) Migration characteristics
Country / place of birth
Citizenship
Previous usual residence and date of migration
Ever resided abroad and year of arrival
Country of birth of parents
Citizenship acquisition
Reason for migration
Place of usual residence year (5-years) before
Population with immigrant background

14. Population topics (7) Ethno-cultural characteristics Disability
Ethnicity
Religion
Language
Mother tongue
Language(s) most spoken
Knowledge of foreign languages
Disability
Disability status

15. Household / family topics (1)
Households
Private
Institutional
The key element – housekeeping vs. household-dwelling concept

16. Household / family topics (2)
Household characteristics
Relationship between members
Tenure status
Household size
Household type
Household status
Generational composition
Durable goods
ICT connection
Single / shared occupancy

17. Household / family topics (3)
Families
Family nucleus
Reconstituted / extended family
The key element – derived data based on statistical concept of family in the scope of household

18. Household / family topics (4)
Family characteristics
Family size
Family type
Family status
Extended family
Reconstituted family

19. Housing topics (1) Housing
Physical characteristics
Infrastructure
Social characteristics
The key element – connection between residents and dwellings

20. Housing topics (2) Housing – social characteristics
Housing arrangement
Occupancy status
Number of occupants
Ownership
Density standard
Number of households

21. Housing topics (3) Housing – physical characteristics
Type of living quarter
Useful floor space
Number of rooms
Type of building
Period of construction of building
Kitchen
Number of floors
Position of dwelling in the building
Lift

22. Housing topics (4) Housing – infrastructure Water supply
Toilet and bathing facilities
Type of heating
Sewage disposal system
Main type of energy used for heating
Electricity
Piped gas

23. Census types in EU Traditional censuses Combined censuses
Rolling census
Combined censuses
Register-based censuses
Development from 2000 to 2021
UNECE Report

24. Traditional census (1) Data collection methods Type of questionnaire
Face to face - PAPI
Face to face - CAPI
Postal and other delivery methods (self-enumeration)
Web-based collection
Multi-mode approach
Type of questionnaire
Short form
Long form

25. Traditional census (2) Advantages Disadvantages Free to choose topics
Costs
Snap shot of country
Periodicity
Essential census features applied
Complex field operation
Huge number of staff
Long lasting processing
Respondent burden
Under-coverage

26. Register-based census (1)
Register-based Census – The movie

27. Register-based census (2)
Pre-conditions
Existing administrative sources with census topics
Use of administrative data in other statistical domains
Unique identifiers for data linking in all sources
Legislation
Basic registers needed
Population register
Territorial register
Housing register

28. Register-based census (3)
Data for topics produced
From single source (CPR, Housing Register)
By combining data from different sources
Educational attainment
Labour force status

29. Register-based census (4)
Advantages
Disadvantages
Reduced costs
Long lasting process to establish system
Annual production
No additional staff
Not all topics available
Short time for processing and dissemination
Rely on quality and periodicity of sources
Use of sample surveys for non-existing topics
No respondent burden

30. Register-based census (5)
Advantage
Disadvantage
Quality assesment
Differance between de facto (field) and de iure (registers) residence
Privacy issues
Repeatability
Harmonization with regular demographic statistics
Applying recommended methodology in whole
Consistency problems by combining data from multiple sources

31. Combined census In principle traditional census
Data for some census topic could be taken from registers in whole or partly (decreasing respondent burden)
Field data could be used for quality assesment of register data
More complex statistical processing
Most likely administrative data are used for organizational purposes
The first step towards complete register-based census

32. Players in EU census production (1)
UNSD
General information on 2010 census round
World Population and Housing Census Programme
Census dates
Census questionnaires
Census Knowledge base
Methodology
Princeples and Recommendations Rev. 3
Dissemination
Demographic Yearbook

33. Players in EU census production (2)
UNECE
General information
UNECE Census Wiki
Methodology
Census Recommendations
Task Forces
Meetings
Population and Housing Census meetings

34. Players in EU census production (3)
EUROSTAT - Legislation role
Census Regulation - 763/2008
Implementing Regulations
Topics and breakdowns /2009
Statistical programme – 519/2010
Quality report – 1151/2010

35. Players in EU census production (4)
EUROSTAT - Latest development for the 2021 Census
No change of Census Regulation
Revision of all three implementing regulations
Simplification and rationalization
New – collection of geo-referenced data - 1km² grid

36. Players in EU census production (5)
EUROSTAT – WG on Population and Housing Censuses

37. Players in EU census production (6)
EUROSTAT – 2011 Census dissemination
Census Hub: easy and flexible access to European census data - leaflet
Census Hub – application
Interactive tools – Census Atlas
Metadata - Supplementary questionnaire

38. Players in EU census production (7)
EUROSTAT – 2011 Census dissemination
Exercise – how to retrieve data from Census Hub

39. Players in EU census production (8)
EUROSTAT – Census data dissemination

40. Players in EU census production (9)
National statistical institutes – data producers
National 2011 Census websites - links

41. Role of census in social statistics
Base for annual population estimates
Small area data
Out of administrative borders
Availability of data on marginal / not numerous population groups
Source for sampling and weighting
Evaluation of survey results

42. Conclusion 2021 census operation is almost here
Main improvement - larger use of administrative data and modern technology
Web and multi mode methods become the main challenges for field collection
To decrease undercoverage - the main challenge
Is there still a future for the traditional censuses beyond 2021?