SESSION 13. INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION OF VITAL STATISTICS Civil Registration Process: Place, Time, Cost, Late Registration UNITED NATIONS STATISTICS DIVISION Workshop on Operation of Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems and the Production of Vital Statistics Reports for the Eastern Mediterranean Countries (Group 1) Casablanca, Morocco, 19 - 23 March 2018

UN international demographic data collection This mandate comes from the earliest times of the Organization Data collection based on sending a set of questionnaires to national statistics authorities Este mandato proviene desde los primeros años de la Organización. El primer anuario demográfico (DYB) corresponde a 1948 ; y a través del tiempo todo la información se ha ido migrando. El resultado es la actual base de datos, que contiene toda la información historica hasta el presente. El proceso para recopilar información es básicamente el envío de cuestionarios cada año a las oficinas de estadística de cada país. Gran parte de nuestra recolección de información demográfica depende de las respuestas que recibimos de los países.

Major vehicles for dissemination of population and vital statistics UN Demographic Yearbook (DYB) both in print and electronic http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm Population and Vital Statistics Report UN Data website http://data.un.org/ DYB, as its name suggests, it is a yearly publication. We usually publish at the end of the year for last year. Say, it is November 2017, we just passed the cutoff date of incorporating new data from countries into the DYB of 2016. DYB special topics Population and Vital Statistics Report is a simpler version of DYB, containing only three tables, covering population and three vital events, births, deaths and infant deaths. Most of the vital statistics data come from national civil registration system. Data not derived from civil registration could be official estimates from censuses, sample survey or demographic analyses. Database updated twice a year

Demographic Yearbook (DYB) Data collected Metadata collected Vital statistics Population estimates International migration Population and housing censuses General characteristics Economic characteristics Housing Household characteristics Quality Methods DYB Questionnaires are dispatched to NSOs in excel (xml) format customized for each country instructions and metadata worksheets data tabulations pre-filled with existing data Questionnaires on vital statistics, population estimates, and migration flows are dispatched to NSOs every year, whereas the census questionnaires follow the census schedule of each country. The template of the questionnaire is available online at: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dybquest.htm

Demographic Yearbook (DYB) -- Vital statistics questionnaire Collection of 43 tables classified in 10 sections: 1. VS summary by urban/rural residence 2. Live births 3. Fertility rates 4. Life Tables 5. Deaths 6. Infant deaths (deaths under 1 year of age) 7. Foetal deaths and Late foetal deaths 8. Legally induced abortions 9. Marriages 10. Divorces 8. Legally induced abortions Data processing and quality control 2. Live births The questionnaire is comprised of many tabulations covering a wide range of vital events according to the Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System 43 tables organised in 10 sections 3.Fertility rates

Data Demographic Yearbook (DYB) -- Vital statistics questionnaire 1. VS summary by urban/rural residence Data This is an example of a table in the VS summary in the questionnaires sent by UNSD to NSOs. In the upper part, countries enter their new or revised data, while in the lower part, they can see what UNSD has already in their database

Meta Data Quality of Vital Statistics Demographic Yearbook (DYB) -- Vital statistics questionnaire Meta Data Quality of Vital Statistics Basis of tabulation Estimated completeness Source of vital statistics National definitions of Urban / Rural areas Grounds for legally induced abortions Methods used in life tables Minimum legal marriage age As part of the annual vital statistics data collection, NSOs are requested to provide as well, an estimate of completeness of the reported births, deaths, infant deaths, marriages, divorces (vital statistics). The completeness of vital statistics, depends respectively on the coverage and completeness of the registration of these vital events. For the purpose of Demographic Yearbook, an estimate of more than or equal to 90 per cent refers to “complete” data, otherwise “incomplete”.

Demographic Yearbook (DYB) Completeness and accuracy of data Differences in statistical definitions Diverse tabulation procedures Figures coming from different types of sources International comparability depends on: After questionnaires are submitted by countries, UNSD staff reviews the data and process it in order to ensure its quality and to maximise international comparability. International comparability depends on: Completeness and accuracy of data produced by each country Differences in statistical definitions of vital events (differ from country to country) Diverse tabulation procedures: for ex. countries using non-conventional age groups (9-13) Type of source: Official estimates coming from sample surveys, which makes it difficult to disaggregate data and it’s subject to sampling errors

How complete are the data sent from countries?

Percentage of countries that sent data to UNSD Total deaths by period and region Total births by period and region Percentage of countries that sent data to UNSD for years 1995-2015 Source: DYB database, consulted 16 Ocotober 2016 This is the response by regions to the collection of UNSD. In the upper graph we have the main dataset on fertility, and in the lower part graphs refer to the main mortality data set. In average, the world’s response has been steady, around 70% of countries (= around 170 countries/areas) sending data on total number of births and deaths. For both birth and death, Asia is close to the average of the world. These figures are only for the most basic tables for births and deaths. For other tables, there is a lower responses. We’ll now have a look at response at the country level. Source: DYB database, consulted mid-October 2016

VS tables provided in the last five years Total no. of tables in VS questionnaire = 38 (data for 2012-2016) Average number of returned tables = 14 Average “VS response rate” = 36% We have seen during these days all the efforts that countries are doing to improve their systems, but there is still a long way. For some countries, these efforts are still not tangible in terms of producing and submitting tabulations to the international collection of data. Source: DYB database as of 14 March 2018

A look at specific tables, last 5 years If we go into even more details, and have a look at specific tables submitted by countries in the last 5 years: We see a rather complete panorama for most countries for a basic death table. There are 3 countries that have not been able to produce these data Here I would like to point out that if a disaggregation does not apply or is not available in a particular country, for example U/R residence, the NSOs can submit parcial information. In this case, it is possible to submit deaths by sex, excluding U/R residence. We will take all data that is submitted to us. Thus, countries should not be discouraged if UNSD questionnaires contain too many disaggregations, or disaggregations that are not available. Source: DYB database as of 14 March 2018

A look at specific tables, last 5 years Adding one extra variable: age Data become much more scarce 4 countries that have not submitted any data in the last 5 years Source: DYB database as of 14 March 2018

A look at specific tables, last 5 years If we look at other vital events, such as infant deaths, which have difficulties in being captured by the civil registration system, the data become even more scarce. 5 countries that have not submitted any data in the last 5 years Source: DYB database as of 14 March 2018

What is the quality of data from countries? We have seen so far the response from countries in terms of quantity, now we’ll have a look at the quality of the data sent to UNSD So, let’s talk about quality!

SDG 17.19.2 Proportion of countries with death registration completeness of at least 75% and birth registration completeness of at least 90%, 2010-2015 World: Deaths = 58 Births = 56 Subsaharan Africa: Deaths = 17 Births = 15 Western Asia and Northern Africa: Deaths = 60 Births = 60 LAC: Deaths = 70 Births = 62

Availability and quality of VS

Availability and quality of VS

Availability and quality of VS

Availability and quality of VS

Availability and quality of VS Latest available information as of February 2018 UNSD(1): information collected by UNSD through the DYB questionnaire UNSD(2): Information collected by UNSD through workshops MICS: Information collected through UNICEF’s Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey

Importance of providing data and metadata for dissemination Enabling social and public health studies Informed decisions Representation in the international setting International comparability Before reaching the end of this presentation, I would like to highlight the importance of having country data disseminated at the international level: Being able to compile, produce and disseminate vital statistics enables Social and public health studies : academic institutions and other organizations such as NGOs gain access for research. UNSD is disseminating your data to a whole different range of users, that might not have access to it otherwise (due to language barriers, or other reasons). VS as official statistics have the ultimate end Informing decisions: by having your data being disseminated by UNSD, this end is not only achieved at the national level, but also at the regional and global level. International and regional organisations, as well as aid institutions, use readily available data in order to plan their work programmes and allocation of technical assistance, resources, etc. In addition, Countries obtain statistical representation in international setting: consider providing data as an opportunity to share progress. And last but not least, having your data disseminated at the international level improves International comparability : for global publications, for monitoring of development indicators (such as the recently approved SDG, or the graduation criteria for least developed countries).

Thank You Спасибо Gracias Merci 谢谢 ﺷﻜﺮﺍﹰ demostat@un.org dybquest@un.org