Vital statistics, its importance and sources

Meaning of Vital Statistics:

Vital statistics, also known as vital events or vital records, are an important source of
demographic data. They explain statistically such events as births, deaths, marriages,
divorces, etc. According to N.B. Ryder, they “provide cumulative summaries for successive
time periods of population movements like birth, death, migration, marriage and marital
dissolution as well as demographic and other relevant characteristics of the individuals
involved in these events.”

But in underdeveloped countries due to mass illiteracy and ignorance, the registration of
births, deaths, marriages, migration, etc. is not done, especially by people living in rural
areas. However, in the majority of developing countries and in all developed countries
registration of vital events like births, deaths, marriages, divorces, migrations, etc. is a
compulsory process.

According to U.N., Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division-

“Principles and Recommendations for a Vital statistics system”, a Vital Statistics System is
defined as the total process of:

(a) collecting information by civil registration or enumeration on the frequency of occurrence

of specified and defined vital events, as well as relevant characteristics of the events
themselves and of the person or persons concerned, and

(b) Compiling, processing, analyzing, evaluating, presenting and disseminating these data in
statistical form. The vital events of interest are: live births, adoptions, legitimations,
recognitions; deaths and fetal deaths; and marriages, divorces, separations and annulments of
marriage.

IMPORTANCE OF VITAL STATISTICS

Vital statistics are of much importance for the nation. They help in analyzing the population
trends at any given point of time. They try to fill the gap between two censuses. They relate
to the composition, size, distribution and growth of population. It is on their basis that
population projections can be made. Vital statistics help in formulating policies for providing
social security to the people. Even the rules for immigration and emigration can be framed on
the basis of population growth data. Vital statistics are also used for updating electoral rolls
and demarcation of constituencies. Vital records can be an excellent source of population-
based data for assessing risks and quality of perinatal outcomes. By becoming actively
involved in ensuring uniformity in definitions, accuracy, and completeness of vital records,
obstetrician–gynecologists can play an important role in perinatal quality improvement.

Uses of Vital Statistics:

Vital statistics are of much importance for the people and nation.

(1) For the Individual:

Vital statistics are of much use for an individual. A birth certificate issued by the registering
authority is an important document which records the date, time, place and parentage of the
person. It establishes his identity as the citizen of the country.

It is a legal document which is used for admission to a school, for getting a passport to travel
abroad and even to migrate to another country, etc. Similarly, a marriage certificate records
the marital status of a couple and legalises the birth of children from that marriage.

(2) Legal Use:

Vital statistics are legally very useful. Certificates relating to birth, death, marriage, divorce,
etc. have legal importance. For instance, a death certificate is an important legal document for
the settlement of property of the deceased person, the claim of his/her insurance policy, etc.

(3) Health and Family Planning Programmes:

Vital statistics relating to births and deaths can be used in health and family planning
programmes of the government. The causes of deaths, and the mortality rates of different
categories help in assessing the health condition of the people.

Accordingly, the state can formulate such health programmes as malaria eradication, polio
and small pox immunisation, tuberculosis, etc. In keeping with the requirements of the
population, the government can open hospitals, maternity and child welfare centres, etc.

(4) Study of Social Conditions:

Vital statistics like birth and death rates, divorce rate, widow remarriage, widowhood, etc.
throw light on the social conditions of a society, as also its customs and traditions.

(5) For Administrators and Planners:

Data provided by vital statistics relating to trend and growth of population in the various age
groups and on the whole, help planners and administrators to plan and formulate policies for
public health, education, housing, transport and communications, food supplies, etc.

(6) For the Nation:

Vital statistics are of much importance for the nation. They help in analysing the population
trends at any given point of time. They try to fill the gap between two censuses. They relate
to the composition, size, distribution and growth of population.

It is on their basis that population projections can be made. Vital statistics help in formulating
policies for providing social security to the people. Even the rules for immigration and
emigration can be framed on the basis of population growth data. Vital statistics are also used
for updating electoral rolls and demarcation of constituencies.

SOME OTHER COMMON USES OF VITAL STATISTICS

 In Cohort and period studies, Cohort  is a group of subjects who share a defining
characteristic (typically subjects who experienced a common event in a selected time period,
such as birth or graduation)

 Construction of Life Tables, Life Table is a table of statistics relating to life expectancy
and mortality for a given category of people.

 Starting points in retrospective epidemiological studies, a retrospective study looks

backwards and examines exposures to suspected risk or protection factors in relation to an
outcome that is established at the start of the study. Epidemiological Studies are a study on
human populations, which attempt to link human health effects (e.g. cancer) to a cause (e.g.
exposure to a specific chemical).

SOURCES OF VITAL STATISTICS

1. Main Source: The main source of vital statistics is records of vital events from civil
registration, which involves the continuous gathering of information on all relevant vital
events occurring within the boundaries of a country. For the calculation of vital rates, civil
registration data are usually complemented by census information, which also has
national coverage. However, when civil registration data either do not exist or are
deficient, countries have taken recourse to data sources other than civil registration to
estimate the necessary vital statistics. The use of complementary data sources has also been
made to enrich and evaluate civil registration data or to gather information on demographic or
epidemiological processes in a way that enriches the information obtained through civil
registration.

2. Additional Sources: Additional sources in a vital statistics system include specific

questions on fertility and mortality added to population censuses, household sample
surveys, vital records from sample registration and health records. For some countries,
the uses of these sources of data together with the application of indirect techniques of
demographic estimation have been supplying some of the statistical indicators needed for
planning purposes, mainly at the national level. But there is no substitute for the availability
of continuous information on vital events as obtained from registration of vital events in civil
registration Accuracy, timeliness and completeness are essential elements that countries
should strive to attain in their systems. Allowance is made, as appropriate, for the use of other
sources of complementary or alternative data.

SOURCES OF VITAL STATISTICS IN INDIA

(1) Population Census

(2) Civil Registration System

(3) Demographic Sample Surveys such as those conducted by the National Sample Surveys
Organization (NSSO); (4) Sample Registration System (SRS) and
(5) Health Surveys, such as National Family Health Surveys, (NFHS) and District Level
Household Surveys (DLHS-RCH) conducted for assessing progress under the Reproductive
and Child Health programmes. A separate manual on Population Census is uploaded in
MOSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) website. This manual deals
with Vital Statistics from other sources.