UNITED NATIONS EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON

REVISING THE PRINCIPLES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUSESNEW YORK, 29 APRIL- 2 MAY 2014

SESSION 2

REPORTS OF THE CHAIRS OF THE

WORKING GROUPS

WORKING GROUP 1:

POPULATION AND HOUSING TOPICS

IAN WHITE

UNITED KINGDOM

POPULATION TOPICS

Sub-Group Chair: Andrew Mukulu

1 Population count – Eurostat

2 Geographical characteristics (including place

of work) - United Kingdom

3 Internal migration – Canada

4 International migration – UNPD

5 Household and family characteristics (plus

Age and sex of head of household) – Uganda

6 Demographic and social characteristics - Jamaica

7 Fertility and mortality – UNPD

8 Educational characteristics – UNESCO

9 Economic characteristics – ILO

10 Disability – Washington Group

11 Agriculture – FAO

Key changes to Population TopicsPopulation count

New paragraph 2.17a on population count“The ‘population count’ or ‘population base’ is the population used for the compilation of aggregated data for statistical purposes. This may be a subset from or the whole of the population to be enumerated. A country may have one or more population bases, all derived from the enumerated population, among which should always be included the population base used for international comparisons purposes.”

New recommendation at paragraph 2.21 on population count“…. for regional comparison purposes, the population count based on the concept of usual residence should always be produced.”

New recommendation at paragraph 2.32 on usual resident population count“….. countries may choose to adopt different period of residence qualifications (such as six months) for assigning usual residency status to sub-national areas within the country.”

New paragraph 2.37a on usual resident population count“There are population groups for which some uncertainty may arise in defining their place of usual residence within the country. The recommended conventional treatment of these cases is as follows:

New category of ‘Difficult to enumerate groups’ at pararagraph 2.41“Homeless or roofless persons, nomads, vagrants and persons with no concept of usual residence. These should be included in the population count, and the census office should work with local government agencies, charities, hostels and other supporting bodies that provide support for this population group to identify the best method of collecting census information from these people.”

Key changes to Population TopicsMigration

New definition at paragraph 2.57 (Place of birth)“For the purposes of measuring internal migration, migrants are defined as those persons who usually are residing in a civil division of the country at the time of the census, but were previously resident outside that division. That is, movements within the civil division should not be regarded as being migratory.”

New recommendation at paragraph 2.60b (Place of birth)“Information on whether or not a person is “born in the country” captures thepopulation according to the boundaries at the time of the census. Using the “born in country” concept would account for individuals who may have beenaffected by changes to a countries boundary.”

New definition at paragraph 2.93 (Country of birth)The concept of county of birth usually refers to the country where the mother ofthe individual resided at the time of the person’s birth. In some countries, however,country of birth is defined as the country in which the birth actually took placeEither concept can be used depending on the information needs of the country; each country should explain which definition it used in the census. It should benoted that the country of birth of a person is not necessarily the same as his or her country of citizenship, which is a separate census topic dealt with below.

New recommendation at paragraph 2.99 (Country of citizenship)“…..it may be more practicable for tabulations by citizenship to refer to one citizenship only. Thus, persons with dual citizenship should be allocated to a single ‘prime’ citizenship using some form of algorithm, for example by giving precedence to the citizenship of the ‘home’ country.”

New recommendation at para 2.100 (Acquisition of citizenship)In addition to collecting information on citizenship, for countries where the population includes a significant proportion of naturalized citizens it may be important to collect information on the method of acquisition of citizenship so as to enable the classification of the population into (a) citizens by birth, (b) citizens by naturalization whether by declaration, option, marriage or other means, and (c) citizens of another country. In such countries it may also be useful to ask questions on previous citizenship and year of naturalization.

Key changes to Population TopicsHousehold and family characteristics

New recommendation at paragraph 2.119a on relationship to household reference person

“The selection of the one reference person in a household to whom all other persons in the household report, or designate, their relationship requires careful consideration. In the past the person considered to be the 'head of the household’ was generally used as the reference person, but this concept is no longer considered appropriate in many countries of the region. It has also sometimes been proposed that the person designated as the reference person should be the oldest person in the household or the one who contributes the most income. However, given that the primary purpose of the question is to assign family status and to assign individuals into families, both of these approaches have weaknesses. The automatic selection of the oldest person may be undesirable because in multi-generational households many explicit kin relationships can be reported where the reference person is selected from the middle generation. Similarly, the selection of the person with the highest income may be a person who will not solicit the broadest range of explicit kin relationships. Given below is some guidance on the selection of the reference person, which will yield some explicit kin relationships:

(a) Either the husband or the wife of a married couple living in the household (preferably from the middle generation in a multi-generational household);(b) Either partner of a consensual union couple living in the household where there is no married couple present;(c) The parent, where one parent lives with his or her sons or daughters of any age; or(d) Where none of the above conditions apply, any adult member of the household may be selected. Note that these categories are neither comprehensive nor mutually exclusive.”

Key changes to Population TopicsDemographic and social characteristics

New recommendation at paragraph 2.146 on marital status“In countries with legal provision for registered/legal partnership (for opposite-sex couples and/or same-sex couples) or where same-sex couples can legally marry, sub-categories may either be included in the category (b) Married or in a legally registered partnership, namely (b)(i) ‘Opposite-sex marriage/partnership’, (b)(ii) ‘Same-sex marriage/partnership’.”

Proposed general introduction for the ethno-cultural characteristics of religion , language and ethnicity“Countries with a culturally diverse population may wish to collect information on the ethnic identity (or composition) of the population, on mother tongue, the knowledge and practice of languages as well as on religious communities and denominations. They are all characteristics which allow people the flexibility to express their ethno-cultural identity in the way that they choose. Data on such ethno-cultural characteristics of the population are of increasing relevance to countries in the context of migration, integration and minority policies. Ethno-cultural characteristics have generally a subjective dimension as there is often no common understanding as to what ‘characteristic’ or ‘concept’ is really being measured in a particular census. Moreover, different countries will adopt different concepts. The ethno-cultural characteristics can also be politically sensitive and may apply to very small, yet identifiable population sub-groups. The free and open declaration of the respondents is therefore of essential importance. Members of certain minority groups may be particularly vulnerable to discrimination on the grounds of ethnic group or religion. Special care, therefore, may be required in census procedures and outputs relating to ethnic group and religion in order to demonstrate to respondents that appropriate data protection and disclosure control measures are in place. In some cases, countries may even wish to collect such data on a voluntary basis if this is permitted by national legislation.”  

Key changes to Population TopicsEducational characteristics

New ISCED field of education and training classification recommended (paragraph 2.225) 

00 Generic programmes and qualifications001 Basic programmes and qualifications002 Literacy and numeracy003 Personal skills and development

01 Education02 Arts and humanities021 Arts022 Humanities (except languages)023 Languages

03 Social sciences, journalism and information031 Social and behavioural sciences032 Journalism and information

04 Business, administration and law041 Business and administration042 Law

05 Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics051 Biological and related sciences052 Environment053 Physical sciences054 Mathematics and statistics

06 Information and Communication Technologies07 Engineering, manufacturing and construction071 Engineering and engineering trades072 Manufacturing and processing073 Architecture and construction

08 Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary081 Agriculture082 Forestry083 Fisheries084 Veterinary

09 Health and welfare091 Health092 Welfare

10 Services101 Personal services102 Hygiene and occupational health services103 Security services104 Transport services

99 Unknown

  

Key changes to Population TopicsEconomic characteristics

Major changes to concepts and terminology recommended by ILO at paragraph 2.231-2.334 covering:

New terms and concepts proposed Old terms and concepts to be dropped

Work* Economic activityLabour force status Current activity status, usual activity statusPersons in employment Employed personsPersons in unemployment Unemployed personsParticipation in forms of work other than employment 

*New recommendation (paragraph 2.240)2.240. The conceptual framework for work statistics identifies five mutually exclusive forms of work for separate measurement. These forms of work are distinguished on the basis of the intended destination of the production (for own final use; or for use by others, i.e. other economic units) and the nature of the transaction (i.e. monetary or non-monetary transactions, and transfers), as follows: (a) own-use production work comprising production of goods and services for own final use; (b) employment work comprising work performed in exchange for pay or profit; (c) unpaid trainee work comprising work performed for others without pay to acquire workplace experience or skills;  (d) volunteer work comprising non-compulsory work performed for others without pay; (e) other work activities including unpaid compulsory work performed for others such as community service and work by prisoners, when ordered by a court or similar authority, and unpaid military or alternative civilian service.  

HOUSING TOPICS

Sub-group Chair: Arona Pistiner

1 Type of living quarters, location, occupancy status, ownership, rooms, bedrooms, floor

space – Egypt2 Housing amenities - UNECA 3 Use of housing unit, multi-occupancy, occupants – United Kingdom4 Characteristics of buildings - Canada5 Tenure, building type, state of repair – UK6 Furnished/unfurnished accommodation, rental and housing costs, availability of ITC devices, cars and durable goods, available outdoor space - Tajikistan7 Occupancy status/Seasonal and secondary

housing – Mexico8 Position in building and accessibility to

dwelling – USA

Key changes to Housing TopicsOccupants and Buildings

New recommendation at paragraph 2.510a (number of occupants)“Depending on their national requirements for information, some countriesmay wish to distinguish between those occupants that are usually resident and those that are not usually resident in the living quarters for the purposes of better understanding the housing conditions and living arrangements of non-residents.”

Addition to definition of a ‘building’ at paragraph 2.511a“In defining a ‘building’, particular care should be given to differentiatingthis from ‘type of living quarter’ (see paragraph 2.412). Type of livingquarter refers to structures that are designed for residential habitation or are being used for residential habitation. A building could be a number of living quarters, a commercial premises, not meant, or being used, forhabitation, or a mix of the two.”

New recommendation at paragraph 2.521 (period of construction)“…. the response ranges could be equal to intervals from one censusto the next, such as ten or five year age groupings depending on thefrequency of census collection. This allows for comparisons acrosst hesame periods and across censuses. Narrow periods of construction are most important in the first few decades of a dwelling when it is undergoing changes, such as foundation setting, or when defects indwelling systems ,such as electrical or plumbing, reveal themselves. Thenafterwards, the ranges could widen, but should be as homogeneous as possible to allow for cohort analysis.”

Key changes to Housing TopicsOccupancy status: Seasonal housing

New recommendation at Annex A 2.464c. An uninhabited conventional dwelling is one that at the time of census is

habitable in that it is neither in ruins or under construction, nor being used solely for economic activity, and there are no usual residents in it at the time of the census. From subset of uninhabited dwellings it is necessary to sub-classify them according to the use of housing unit as determined by owner or holder into (a) seasonal housing and (b) non-seasonal housing.

2.464d. Seasonal housing is that which is not intended to be permanently occupied. The owners of seasonal housing units may use these for leisure, recreational or vacational purposes either for their own use or for use by others. Thus the dwelling is only occupied in certain days, weeks, or months of year. It is generally furnished and has functioning facilities such as a water supply, electricity, household appliances, tools or working equipment. The following categories to specify seasonal status are suggested:

(1) Stay for vacations or recreational purposes

(2) Stay for business or work in agricultural activities

(3) Stay for business or work in non-agricultural activities

(4) Stay for education

(5) Any other type of seasonal stay 

2.464e. For uninhabited dwellings that not intended for seasonal occupancy, an attempt to identify the purpose or reason for its non-use is recommended. Nevertheless, it is recognised that it may be difficult to do if the owner is not present in the dwelling at the time of the census and where other respondents (generally neighbours) may not know the information. Nevertheless, the following categories are recommended:

(6) For rent or sale

(7) Under repair or reconstruction

(8) Used only for storage

(9) Not specified

Key changes to Housing TopicsOccupancy status: Secondary housing

New recommendation at Annex A 2.464g. It is important that countries collect information on dimension and

characteristics of secondary homes. This provides information on the circumstances in which households own and use more than one residence and on the characteristics of such households by relating the occupancy status with the socio-economic variables reported in the census. However, it is recognised that the collection of such information can be both difficult and sensitive and that, in any field enumeration there may be reluctance on the part of respondents to provide accurate information.

 

2.464h. The prerequisite for collecting any information on secondary homes is the identification of the household’s primary or main home where the household is regarded as being usually resident (or present at the time of the census). A secondary home is then defined as a dwelling owned by the household but not used as the household’s usual residence (main) at the time of census-taking. Under this approach, the criteria for assigning a secondary home status states are:

- the household has other owned dwelling where it could usually reside at any time or can be regularly used;

- the household can use dwelling seasonally in certain periods of time or days a year so any household member stays for vacations, recreational, working, education purposes, among others.

- any other person can be a usual resident in it, whether by renting or by occupying it in some other circumstance

.

2.464i. Households may then be classified according to availability of secondary home are proposed to be classified as:

- secondary home available

- secondary home unavailable

Key changes to Housing TopicsOccupancy status: Secondary housing

New classification at Annex A

2.464j. For household where there is a secondary home available, the characteristics of that home should be recorded such as the following classification may be adopted:

 

1.0 Position of building

1.1 Attached to the main house

1.2 In the same area

1.3 In another area

 

2.0 Use of housing unit

2.1 Secondary home

2.2 Seasonally housing

2.2.1 Stay for vacations or recreational purposes

2.2.2 Stay for work or education

2.2.3 Another type of seasonally stay

2.3 Economic activity or family enterprise

2.4 Rent or loan to another household

2.5 Another use

 

3.0 Occupancy status

3.1 Inhabited

3.2 Uninhabited

 

Key changes to Housing TopicsOther proposed new classifications

Useful floor space (paragraph 2.476)

• Under 15 square metres• 15 and less that 30 square metre• 30 and less than 40 square metres• 40 and less than 50 square metres• 50 and less than 60 square metres• 60 and less than 80 square metres• 80 and less than 100 square metres• 100 and less than 120 square metres• 120 and less than 150 square metres• 150 square metres and over

or• Less than 5 square metres per occupant• 5 and less that 10 square metres per occupant• 10 and less than 15 square metres per occupant• 15 and less than 20 square metres per occupant• 20 and less than 30 square metres per occupant• 30 and less than 40 square metres per occupant • 40 and less than 60 square metres per occupant• 60 and less than 80 square metres per occupant• 80 square metres and over per occupant

Key changes to Housing TopicsOther proposed new classifications

Type of building (paragraph 2.517) (1.0) Residential buildings (1.1) Detached house (houses not attached to any other buildings) (1.1.1) Detached houses with one dwelling (1.1.2) Detached houses with two dwellings (with one above the other) (1.2) Semi-detached house (two attached dwellings) (1.3) Row (or terraced) house (at least three attached or connected dwellings each with separate access to the outside) (1.4) Apartment buildings (1.4.1) Apartment buildings with three to nine dwelling (1.4.2) Apartment buildings with 10 or more dwellings (1.5) Other residential buildings(2.0) Non-residential buildings

State of repair (paragraph 2.531)

(1.0) Repair not needed,

(2.0) In need of repair

(2.1) Minor repair

(2.2) Moderate repair

(2.3) Serious repair

(3.0) Irreparable

Key changes to Housing TopicsOther proposed new classifications

Position of dwelling in the building (paragraph 2.524a)

Some countries may want to collect information on the position of dwelling/housing unit in the building. This information can be used as an indicator of accessibility to dwellings, possibly in conjunction with information on the accessibility to the dwellings. The following classification of dwellings by position in the building is recommended:

(1.0) Dwelling on one floor only (1.1) Dwelling below the ground floor (1.2) Dwelling on the ground floor of the building (1.3) Dwelling on the 1st or 2nd floor of the building (1.4) Dwelling on the 3rd or 4th floor of the building (1.5) Dwelling on the 5th floor of the building or higher(2.0) Dwellings on two or more floors (2.1) Dwelling on the ground floor of the building or below ground level (2.2) Dwelling on the 1st or 2nd floor of the building (2.3) Dwelling on the 3rd or 4th floor of the building (2.4) Dwelling on the 5th floor of the building or higher

For dwellings on two or more floors, information should be provided with reference to the lowest floor level of the dwelling.

Key changes to Housing TopicsOther proposed new classifications

Construction materials of outer wall (paragraph 2.525)

(1.0) Burnt clay (bricks, blocks, panels), stone, concrete

(2.0) Unburnt clay, mud, earth

(3.0) Wood

(4.0) Bamboo

(5.0) Corrugated sheets

(6.0) Prefabricated units

(7.0) Other materials

Construction materials of floor and roof (paragraph 2.528)

(1.0) Tile

(2.0) Concrete

(3.0) Metal sheeting

(4.0) Wood

(5.0) Bamboo

(6.0) Palm, straw

(7.0) Mud

(8.0) Plastic sheeting

(9.0) Other materials

Key changes to Housing TopicsMoving some topics to Population chapter ?

Age and sex of household reference person

Tenure

Rental and other housing costs

Availability of ITC devices

Number of cars available to household

Durable household appliances

Availability of outdoor space

But note what paragraph 1.7 (Part I) says about housing censuses

“The [housing] census must provide information on the supply of housing

units together with information on the structural characteristics and

facilities that have a bearing upon the maintenance of privacy and health

and the development of normal family living conditions. Sufficient

demographic, social and economic data concerning the occupants must

be collected to furnish a description of housing conditions and also to

provide basic data for analysing the causes of housing deficiencies and

for studying possibilities for remedial action.”

UNITED NATIONS EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON

REVISING THE PRINCIPLES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUSESNEW YORK, 29 APRIL- 2 MAY 2014

SESSION 2

REPORTS OF THE CHAIRS OF THE

WORKING GROUPS

WORKING GROUP 1:

POPULATION AND HOUSING TOPICS

IAN WHITE

UNITED KINGDOM