Sources of demographic data

 Population census
 vital registration systems
 migration control systems
 sample surveys
 administrative sources
 Population census
 Complete count of the population within a country
at a given point in time.
 Process of collecting, compiling and publishing
demographic, social and economic data pertaining
at a specific time , to all persons in a country
 It provides a base or reference point for current
statistics and a statistical frame for sample surveys
 Early censuses were for the purpose of taxation,
determine military and political status
 from as early as 5 B.C. Rome took a census of it’s
empire every five years
 Purpose of 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
 Purpose of Census Con’t
 Census statistics are used as benchmarks for statistical compilation
or as a sampling frame for sample surveys.
 Generate statistics on small areas and
small population groups with no/minimum sampling errors.
 Produce statistics on any geographical unit with arbitrary
boundaries.
In planning the location of a school, it is necessary to have the data on the
distribution of school-age children by school area, which may not necessarily be
equal to the administrative

 Census results are used as a benchmark for research and

analysis. Projecting future population and needs
• Source: UN Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2
 Characteristics of a census
1. individual enumeration

2. universality ( all persons present)

3. simultaneity ( reference period, Midnight, April 1 )

4. defined Periodicity (every 10 years)

5. legal basis
 Individual enumeration
The term “census” implies that each Individual and each set of
living quarters is enumerated separately and that the
characteristics thereof are separately recorded. Only by this
procedure can the data on the various characteristics be cross
classified.
Data for each member of the household must be listed
on a separate sheet
All adult members present should answer for
themselves
The household head or a responsible adult can answer
for persons who are absent
 Simultaneity
 Everyone should be counted at the same time
 To achieve this we set a reference day-
Designate a day census day
 Universality
 All eligible persons living in the country
should be counted
 Universality within a defined territory

The census should cover a precisely defined territory (the entire

country or a well-delimited part of it).
The population census should include every person present
and/or residing within its scope, depending upon the type of
population count required (de jure or de facto).
 This does not preclude the use of sampling techniques

for obtaining data on specified characteristics, provided that

the sample design is consistent with the size of the areas for
which the data are to be tabulated
 Defined periodicity
 Since 1958 the UN has been actively promoting censuses
 Intervals of 10 years, preferably in years ending in ‘0’ or the
closest year - this ensures comparability of the data between and
within countries
 financial considerations may affect periodicity

 The USA conducted a census every 10 yrs.

 UK every 10 yrs since 1801except for world war 1.
 Canada – every five years

 The first official census in the Caribbean was taken in 1943: In

Jamaica the first 1943,1960,1970,1982, 1991, 2001 and 2011.
 Legal basis
 Census taken under the provision of the
Statistics Act
 Approval is given by parliament

 Minister in charge tables the Census

regulations
 Regulations outlined the conditions under

which the census is to be taken

 statistics act of jamaica.pdf

The functions of everyone participating in the census must be
clearly outlined
 Participation in the census is compulsory for every person

 In Jamaica. Section 17 (2) of the Statistics (Amendment) Act 1984 forbids the release or
publication of confidential information collected from individuals in any form that would
enable others to identify it with these persons
 The terms of references for all the agencies and participants
clearly outlined.
 A budget must be prepared. The census is funded by the
Government/people
 JA 2010 census cost JA1.6 billion
 JA 2001 JA 300 MIL
 JA 1991 JA 24 MIL
 JA 1982 JA 14 MIL (APRIL 5– JULY 31 )
Questions included in the census
 Age
 sex
 Ethnicity/ race
 marital status
 Religion
 Language /mother tongue
 Relationship to hh head
 Housing characteristics
 Fertility
 Educational attainment/literacy
 Economic activity
 Chronic illness/disability
 Birthplace/ residence
 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
 • 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
 Jamaica 2011
 Challenges of Data Collection
 The main 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;
 - 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.
the long form and short form used in
JA population census

 See
 www.statinja.com-stats.html.url
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 hh were contained on a
separate form
 Enumeration district
 an administrative geographical area used for the purpose of
census taking
 the boundaries should not cross administrative areas,
neither should the boundaries cross each other
 the boundaries should be clearly demarcated by permanent
natural or man-made features.
 should be a reasonable workload for an individual
enumerator
Enumeration districts in Jamaica
5235 (2001 census)
5776 (2011)

100-150 households in each ED

Each person should be associated with an

ED on census night. This is to ensure that
there is not omission or double counting of
the population
Ed maps.PDF
 country

REGION1 r2 r3 r4

Group of parishes

parishes grouped into areas Areas broken down into zones

49 18-20
EDs
households
 Methods of census taking

 the de facto count

 de jure count
 The de facto census

 In this method, persons eligible to be included are all individuals in

the country at a particular point in time or reference period
( normally midnight census night ) they are associated with the
household or institution in which they passed census night
regardless of usual place of residence.
 You are enumerated according to where they were on census night.
 In this approach, 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
 used in Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St.lucia.
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 pop.
This method may also results in the
undercounting of the usual population.
 The de jure count
 In the de jure census count persons are enumerated
according to their usual place of residence.
 Persons away from their usual residences are
enumerated while visitors are omitted from the count.
 This gives a more accurate picture of the usual
population.
 The problem in the Caribbean is that persons may have
more than one usual place of residence and this gives
rise to double counting.
 Used in JA
Country 1980 1990 2000/ 2010
Antigua and de facto de facto de facto
Barbuda
Bahamas de jure de jure de jure

Barbados De facto De jure dejure

Belize De facto De facto De jure
Dominica De facto De facto De facto
Grenada De facto De facto defacto
Guyana De facto de facto de facto

St. Kitts De facto De facto De facto

 In Jamaica
 De jure count
 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 ( inc Diplomatic personnel) away six
months and over
 All visitors who are usually residents of other countries
 All foreign diplomatic personnel located in Jamaica
Population and Housing Censuses
 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 diving walls from foundation to roof.
May be detached dwelling, apartment, shop
 Definition
 Housing unit- building used for living
purposes
 Dwelling unit- living quarters of an individual.
May be a separate building or apart of a
building.
 DWU- established on the basis of -
separateness-enclosed walls or partitions and
independence- private access from streets or
common landing( stairs, passage)
 Definitions
 Private dwellings
 Group dwellings
 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
 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 hh
 What about a tenement yard?
 External kitchen
 External toilet
 Methods of enumeration
 the direct interviewer or canvasser method

 the self enumeration or householder method

 Self enumeration
 in the self enumeration method, the census forms are distributed,
usually one to each household, and the information is entered on
the form by one or more of the household members. Usually the
head

 in this method there is less need for highly trained enumerators.

 The enumerator may distribute the form and later collect it.
 Then review for completeness or correctness.
 the forms may also be distributed by mail. Telephone calls or visits
to households may be used to verify data.

 Advantages

 this method may have the advantage of giving the

respondent enough time to consult records for valuable
information. They are less costly.

 Each person can report the in formation on his/her own, thus

reducing the amount of errors i.e income data.

 It is more feasible to achieve simultaneity as all respondents

could be asked to report this information on census day.


 This method is more feasible if a de facto count is
desired.

 Mail questionnaires may also have a lower

response rate than interviewer administered
questionnaires ( child may complete the
questionnaire)

 The method is more common in Australia and

New Zealand.
 Canvass method
 In the canvass method the interviewer has a greater
responsibility for the accuracy of the data.


 Their knowledge of the questionnaire may serve to

ensure greater consistency in the information
collected.
 More widely used method
 Errors in census data
 coverage

 content

 processing
 Coverage errors
 Usually occur when outdated geographical
frames are used

 Areas are omitted in the count

 usually remote or volatile

 homeless, handicaps and young are often

omitted
 Content
 Incorrect information recorded
 can be accidental
 or deliberate
 usually a problem in age and income data
 less likely to occur in populations with very
high levels of literacy
 highly motivated and well paid enumerated
will reduce this kind of error
 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
 Summary
 Data can be tabulated for many local
geographical areas
 low sampling errors
 simultaneously obtain information related to
enumerated events and population at risk
 used in time series analysis
 Infrequent
 limited range and depth
 high probable response error on flow
variables; I.e.income, births, deaths
 identifying persons at their usual place
residence
 costly, inflexible,difficult to control conditions
of observation
 Post enumeration surveys
 Sample survey conducted after the census
 About 5 or 10 % of the pop included in the
sample

 Test the accuracy of census data

 Best enumerators and supervisors used

 Vital registration systems
 Began in Europe as an ecclesiastical function
for maintaining weekly records of
 Burials, baptisms and weddings

Today extended to include

 Births, deaths, marriages, divorce, annulment,

adoption, judicial separation, change of

address, fetal deaths, Legitimating, recognition
 Jamaica
 Provide means of identity to each individual
born in Jamaica
 Supply basic data to planning agencies for

population planning
Needed for:
 Travel purposes

 Entry into school

 Applying for certain jobs

 Distinction between civil registration and vital
statistics system
 Civil registration- is the continuous , permanent,
compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and
characteristics of vital events pertaining to a population
(united Nations Handbook of Vital Statistics systems and
methods 1991, VOL 1)
 Vital statistics system- the process of collecting,
compiling, processing, analyzing, evaluating, processing an
disseminating data collected in the civil registration system
 Vital events- births, deaths, foetal deaths, marriages,
divorce, adoption, legitimating, recognition of parenthood,
annulment, judicial separation
 Registration offices
 local districts
 operate from post offices
 operate from postal agencies
 operate from private homes
 operate from hospitals
 operate from health centres
Accuracy of the data 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 MDC than in LDC
 Registration
 Registration of 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
 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)
 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
 If there 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

Normal, except for

A Appearance (Skin Color) Blue-gray, pale all over Normal over entire body
extremities

R Respiration Absent Slow, irregular Good, crying

Copyright © 1994 - 1998 by Childbirth.org All rights reserved.

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
 Coroner’s case- death from violence or those that
occur suddenly, unexpectedly or unattended by a
physician
 The Birth and Death Act requires the registration
of a
 Live Birth or still birth – within 42 days after the
event
 Death-within 5 days

 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
+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 poor 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.

Migration data are usually the cause of errors, as these data are usually
incomplete.

The smaller the error of closure the better the data are.
SAMPLE SURVEYS