SOURCES

OF
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
Sources of Demographic Data

 Censuses
 Civil/Vital registration
 Surveys
 Administrative records
CENSUS
 A census is the count of a given population (or other
phenomena of interest) and the record of its characteristics,
done at a specific point in time and usually at regular intervals
by a governmental entity for the geographic area or sub areas
under its domain

Source: Swanson & Siegel (Eds) 2004

Population and Housing Census

A Population and Housing Census is defined

by the United Nations as
 “ the total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating,
analysing and publishing or otherwise disseminating
demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a
specific time, to all persons, living quarters and occupants
thereof in a country or delimited part of a country.”
History of censuses
 Egypt
3000 B.C
 Modern Census
 England 1841
 Jamaica 1943
Purpose of a census
 Role in Public Administration
 Ensure equity in distribution of wealth, government services
and representation nationwide
 Distributing and allocating government funds throughout the
country for education, health services, delineating electoral
districts at the national and local levels
 Measuring the impact of industrial development
 Establishing a public consensus on national priorities

 Source: UN Principles and Recommendations for Population

and Housing Censuses, Revision 2
8
Purpose of a Census

9
Characteristics of a census

 Individual enumeration (info on all persons)

 Universality (entire country is covered)

 Simultaneity ( reference period)

 Defined periodicity (interval)

 Legal basis ( Statistics Act)

Costing for the census
A budget must be prepared. The census is funded by the
Government/tax payers
 JA 2021…..…approx. $3.0 billion
 JA 2011 census cost $1.6 billion
 JA 2001 $300 MIL
 JA 1991 $24 MIL
 JA 1982 $14 MIL

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Jamaica 2011
Individual Questionnaire
• Age
• Sex
• Relationship to Head of Household
• Religious Affiliation
• Ethnic origin
• Marital and Union Status
• Educational Attainment
• Physical and Mental Limitations
• Birthplace and Residence
• Training
• Economic Activity and Social Welfare
• Fertility
• Transportation 12
• Information and Communication Technology
Jamaica 2011
Household questionnaire
 Type of Unit
 Material of outer walls
 Material of Roofing
 Number of rooms
 Tenure of Land and Dwelling
 Availability and Type of Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet Facilities
 Method of Disposal of Solid Waste
 Source of Water for Domestic Use,
 Source of Drinking Water
 Type of Lighting
 Type of Fuel used for Cooking
 Availability of Telephone and other Communication Devices and facilities
 Migration and Mortality 13
 Jamaica 2011
Challenges of Data Collection
Themain challenges encountered could be
summarized in the following:

The general hostility of the population with what was

regarded as a ‘government’ project

The inability to relate their participation with

immediate personal benefits
15
Challenges of Data Collection
 The belief that the information would be given to
the tax collectors

 Violence in some areas and the inability to be out

late at nights

 Incidents of dog bites

 Lack of access to gated communities

 Inefficient and unproductive census workers. 16

2001 Jamaica Population and Housing Census
uses a sample Short form vs. long form

 Short form
 Administered to 90% of households
 27 questions
 Long form
 Administered to 10%
 All 27 in short form plus 44 additional questions
 21 questions related to households were contained on a separate form

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Geographic Division
18
 Country

REGION1 r2 r3 r4

Group of parishes

parishes grouped into areas Areas broken down into zones

49 18-20
EDs 19
households
Constituency

 Political unit created for the purpose of parliamentary

representation
 63 constituencies in 2011
 All EDs are grouped according to constituencies. No
EDs cut across constituency boundaries.

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 Definitions
Building
Physical structure which is separate and independent.
 Used for agricultural, residential, industrial, commercial, cultural
purpose
One or more rooms
Covered by a roof
External and or dividing walls from foundation to roof
May be a detached dwelling, apartment, factory, shop, warehouse
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 Definitions

 Housing unit – a building or buildings used for living purposes at

the time of the Census
 Dwelling unit – Any building (incl. separate or independent part) in
which a person or group of persons live at the time of the Census.
The living quarters - Occupiers must have free access to the street
by their own separate and independent entrance(s).

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 Definitions
 Dwelling unit – Any building (incl. separate or independent parts of
a building) in which a person or group of persons live at the time of
the Census. The living quarters.
 Private dwellings – dwellings in which private households reside,
e.g. single houses, apartments, boarding houses with less than 6
boarders.
 Group dwellings, i.e. non-private dwellings in which the occupants
live collectively (eat common meals, share common domestic
services) for disciplinary, health education, religious, military, work
or other reasons.

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 Definitions
Household
one or more individuals who occupy part of shared dwelling
unit.
In the case of 2 or more persons common arrangements for
care-usually a minimum of one meal per day
Note: Residential unit so all members of a household must live
together. A household does not have to be a family. One family
can be part of separate households.

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 Household helpers
 Household helpers, boarders/lodgers who live in a dwelling and
consider it their usual place of residence are apart of the
household.

 Helper who lives in the house or the helper’s quarters, sleeps on

the premises 4 nights or more, shares at least a meal with the
family, he/she is a member of the hh.

 Helper who lives on the premises but cooks separately is

considered as a separate household

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What about a tenement yard?

 A multi-family housing arrangement consisting of

many substandard dwellings packed closely on a
single plot of land. Dwellings often share resources
such as running water and toilets.
 External kitchen
 External toilet

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Methods of Enumeration

1) Self – Enumeration or Household method

2) Canvass or Direct Interviewer Method

Methods of census taking

1. De facto census taking occurs where you are

enumerated according to where you are currently
physically residing/ staying/ located on census day
or night.
2. De jure census taking occurs where you are
enumerated where you usually reside.
The DeFacto method
 You are enumerated according to where you were
on census night
 Visitors to the country are enumerated
 Usual residents who are abroad are not included
 It may be necessary to count all individuals on boats
or trains
 In some countries individuals are asked to remain
at home on census day
Challenges of the DeFacto Method

 Because individuals are not enumerated according to their

usual place of residence this makes it difficult to establish
good migration data.
 Our population of interest should really be the usual
population.
 May result in the undercounting of the usual population
The DeJure Method
 Persons are enumerated according to their usual
place of residence
 Persons temporarily away from their usual
residences are enumerated while visitors are omitted
from the count
 This gives a more accurate picture of the de jure
population
 Allocate people to the communities that are most responsible
for providing services to them, and to which they are most
intimately related.
 It helps determine planning needs.
Challenges of De Jure method

 The problem in the Caribbean is that

persons may have more than one
usual place of residence and this gives
rise to double counting.
DeJure in Jamaica
 Included all Jamaicans and non-Jamaicans whose usual place
of residence was in Jamaica even if they were temporarily (
less than six months) abroad at the time of the census
 Excluded
 All Jamaicans ( incl. Diplomatic personnel) away six
months and over
 All visitors who are usually residents of other countries
 All foreign diplomatic personnel located in Jamaica
Data collection procedures
 Establish administrative tree (census officers,
supervisors, enumerators)
 Develop questionnaire(s)
 Cartography
 Define enumeration areas
 Pre-test enumeration processes
 Design data processing system
 Enumeration (postal with follow-up, general canvas)
Census evaluation
 Post Enumeration Survey
 Sample survey conducted after the census
 About 5 or 10 % of the pop included in the sample
 Tests the accuracy of census data
 Best enumerators and supervisors used
 Error of closure
 difference in total population between the enumerated
population and the expected population.
 Demographic evaluation of key variables such as
age and sex
Error of Closure
 This is the difference in the total population count based
on differences between the enumerated and expected
population
Population census ( enumerated count)
Inter-censual estimates (balancing equation)
 It is used to estimate the relative completeness of 2
censuses
 The population balancing equation is used to compute
the estimated population count
 P0+B-D+I-E
 Census pop – pop estimate based on the
balancing equation
Error of Closure

 +VE value tells us that the census population has been over-
counted
 -VE value tells us that the census population has been under-
counted.
 Under registration of births deaths and migration data can impact
on the count
 Where these data are of poor quality and complete coverage has
been achieved in the census count. We will be more inclined to
accept the census count as the true population size.
Error of Closure

 Migration data are usually the cause of

errors, as these data are usually
incomplete.
 The smaller the error of closure the more
accurate the data quality.
Errors in census data
1. Coverage

2. Content

3. Processing

39
Coverage errors
 Usually occur when outdated geographical frames
are used
 Areas are omitted in the count
 Usually remote or volatile
 Homeless, disabled and young are often omitted

40
Content errors
 Incorrect information recorded
 Can be accidental or deliberate
 Is usually a problem in age and income data
 Is less likely to occur in populations with very high levels of
literacy
 Is highly motivated and well paid enumerators will reduce
this kind of error

41
Processing errors
 Occur at the point of data entry
 in the field
 transferring the data to the computer

 Techniques can be applied to identify and correct these errors

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CIVIL REGISTRATION
 Civil registration is a system for the registration
of the demographic events occurring in a
population such as births, deaths and marriages.

 Vital statistics is the total process of registering,

compiling, and reporting of the aggregate of vital
events, such as births, deaths or marriages that
occur during a specified duration of time among
the members of the population residing in an
area.
Civil registration
 History
 Relatively modern concept in its present format
 Churches have long maintained baptism, wedding and
burial registries
 Provided insight on the demographic situation since the
late Middle Ages
 Today extended to include:
 Divorce,
 Annulment,
 Adoption,
 Separation,
 Change of address,
 Fetal deaths
Civil Registration
 Primarily Administrative
 To collect data on the vital events happening in a
population (generally concerned with live births, deaths,
marriages and divorces) by nation states, not churches
 Help our understanding of demographic characteristics of
different populations at different points in time
Civil Registration
 Essential characteristics
 Universality
 Continuity
 Permanent
 Compulsory

 Definitions and content

 Live birth
 Death
 Marriage
 Divorce
Registration Offices
 local districts
 operate from post offices
 operate from postal agencies
 operate from private homes
 operate from hospitals
 operate from health centres

47
Accuracy of the data is
affected by:
 Late registration
 Births occurring outside hospitals and those not
attended by professional health care provider are
the most difficult to capture
 Contribute to the undercount of fetal, neonatal
and maternal deaths
 Better developed in MDCs rather than in LDCs

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Registration
 Registration (Births and Deaths) Act
 Information
 Date of birth
 Time of birth
 Sex of child
 Place of birth
 Name of place of birth
 Type of place/ facility in which the birth occurred
 Date of registration
 Place of registration
 Place of residence of mother / father
 DOB mother /father
 Age of mother /father
 Marital status
 Education mother/ father
 Occupation mother /father
 birth place of mother/father
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 Birth weight child
 Gestational period . Crown head length, start of antenatal care, no visits,
 Apgar Score, method of delivery , live birth order, plurality (singleton or twin)
UN Classification of Registration
times
 Late registration- the registration of a vital event more
than three months but less than one year after the
event (Jamaica call this delayed registration)
 Delayed registration – registration of a vital event one
year or more after occurrence

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Apgar Score
 Score of the infant’s condition 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth on the basis of 5
conditions
 Heart rate
 Respiration
 Muscle tone
 Color
 Response to stimuli ( 0,1,2)
 Max score-10
 >=3 is critically low- require immediate resuscitative measures
 4-6 fairly low- may require some resuscitative measures
 7-10 generally normal
 Ifthere are problems with the baby an additional score is given at 10
minutes.
Jepson, Talashek, and Tichy (1991), the Apgar score as a “tool” (to measure newborn adaptation to
extrauterine life) lacks sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity measures how well the tool captures the
infant's condition at birth (stable vs. depressed) and specificity refers to how well the tool measures
the differences between the values of the scores (0–2 for each of the five categories). Source: Jepson
H, Talashek M, Tichy A. The Apgar score: Evolution, limitations, and scoring guidelines. Birth:
Issues in Perinatal Care. 1991;18:83–92

Apgar V (1966) Regan Report (1987), the person assisting with the delivery of the infant should not
assign the Apgar score
Source: Apgar V. The newborn scoring system: Reflections and advice. Pediatric Clinics of North
America. 1966;113:645–650

In recent years, many researchers have attempted to correlate Apgar scores with various outcomes
including development (Behnke et al., 1989; Blackman, 1988; Riehn, Petzold, Kuhlisch, & Distler,
1998), later delinquency (Gibson & Tibbetts, 1998), intelligence (Nelson & Ellenberg, 1981), and
neurological development (Sommerfelt, Pedersen, Ellertsen, & Markestad, 1996; Wolf, M.,
Beunen, Casaer, & Wolf, B., 1998; Wolf, M., Beunen, Casaer, & Wolf, B., 1997; Wolf, M., Wolf,
B., Bijleveld, Beunen, & Casaer, 1997)
 Sign 0 Points 1 Point 2 Points

A Activity (Muscle Tone) Absent Arms and Legs Flexed Active Movement

P Pulse Absent Below 100 bpm Above 100 bpm

Grimace (Reflex Sneeze, cough, pulls

G No Response Grimace
Irritability) away

Appearance (Skin Normal, except for Normal over entire

A Blue-gray, pale all over
Color) extremities body

R Respiration Absent Slow, irregular Good, crying

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SURVEYS
 A periodic count of a sample of the population to provide
information on characteristics of the population which
cannot be obtained in a census (supplementary demographic
data)
 Usually undertaken during the inter-censal period
Purpose of Surveys
 To provide fairly detailed information about some aspect of
the population such as the labour force, fertility, migration,
housing, household budgets, spending patterns
 To test the accuracy of traditional sources of demographic
data; tracking population characteristics that change frequently
 To collect vital statistics where the official registration system
is inadequate
 To experiment with new questions…i.e. topics to be covered
in greater depth, at moderate additional costs
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS
 This includes data collected for administrative purposes by
government agencies particularly on a routine basis but can be
used for population planning.
 The main disadvantage is that some necessary data may be
incomplete due to the original purpose intended.
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS
 Examples of Administrative Records
 Ministry of Health- Service utilisation reports

 Ministry of Education-School Enrollment data

 Ministry of Local Government - Voting population: 18 years

or older

 Ministry of National Security -Dept. of Immigration