1. United Nations Statistics Division
Overview of the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses with Emphasis on Innovations
Srdjan Mrkić
United Nations Statistics Division

2. - The seventh such programme since the inception of the United Nations
General overview
2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses
- The seventh such programme since the inception of the United Nations
- As of October 2014, out of 235 countries or areas
- 216 already conducted a population and housing census
- 19 did not plan nor conduct/schedule a census, compared to 26 countries or areas in the 2000 round

3. General overview – 1990 round of censuses

4. General overview – 2000 round of censuses

5. General overview – 2010 round of censuses

6. General overview – 2010 round
Number of countries/areas that conducted, plan to conduct and did not schedule a population and housing census in the 2010 round, by year

7. 2010 round findings Main census methodology
- Full field enumeration (85 % of surveyed countries)
- Administrative registers (10 %)

8. Main census methodology – Rolling census
- Combination of full enumeration for certain areas and sampling surveys in other
- Initiated by a number of factors, including concerns regarding the different periodicity and costs
- In France, since 2004
- The concept dates back to 1960’s – became feasible for large statistical exercises in the 1990’s due to theoretical and technological development

9. Main census methodology – Rolling census
France consists of 36,682 municipalities (communes)
Half of the population resides in around 36 thousand small communes with population less than 10,000
The other half resides in less than one thousand large communes with the population well over 10,000

10. Full and complete enumeration once in a five year period
Main census methodology – Rolling census
All small communes are distributed in five groups for each arrondissment (large region, 22 in total) based on age groups, sex and type of dwelling
Full and complete enumeration once in a five year period

11. Main census methodology – Rolling census
As for large communes, the sample is based on an inventory of buildings/addresses
Addresses are distributed in five groups, as in the case of small communes
Each year, 40% of one group is enumerated
In a five year period, identical sample of each group is enumerated

12. Main census methodology – Rolling census
- As a result, the rolling census covers 14% percent of the population each year – one-fifth of all the small communes is enumerated each year, which represent approximately 10% of the total population and around 8% of the large communes, which is approximately 4% of the total population
- After five years, the total of the enumerated persons amounts to approximately 70% of the total population, allowing for extrapolation and interpolation for small areas

13. Main census methodology – Rolling census
Issues:
Simultaneity
Double enumeration
Universality
Advantages:
Once set in motion, generates annual, up-to-date small area statistics
Less costly

14. Main census methodology – Combination
Replacing the long form with a rolling survey
American Community Survey
In the United States, full enumeration on just 10 questions and is conducted once every ten years
For all the other population and housing census topics, a rolling survey

15. Main census methodology – Combination
Four stages of development:
Design stage –
Development stage –
Demonstration stage – 2000 – 2004
Full implementation – 2005 onwards, around 3 million housing units are sampled each year

16. Main census methodology – Combination
Moving averages for smallest geographical areas – census tracts – became available after five-year data gathering
After that, data are available on annual basis
Introduced over a long period of time
Required institutional and methodological re- engineering

17. 2010 round findings Enumeration methods used in 2010 round
Total countries
Percent
Total
126
100
Face-to-face interview, paper questionnaire 94 75
Face-to-face interview, electronic questionnaire 14 11
Telephone
Self-enumeration, paper questionnaire, collected by enumerators 30 24
Self-enumeration, paper questionnaire, return by mail 18
Self-enumeration, internet 33 26
Register-based enumeration
Pre-existing administrative records 8 6
Other 2
* Note that the sum of the categories exceeds 100% as countries were asked to provide answers as to all the methods they applied.

18. 2010 round findings Type of technology used in 2010 round
Total countries
Percent
Total
121
100
Internet 50 43
Laptop computers 31 27
Hand-held/Pocket computers 10 9
Tablet computers 4 3
Geographical information systems (GIS) 75 64
Computer-assisted coding 57 48
Optical mark recognition 38 33
Optical character reading 49 42
Other imaging techniques and scanning devices 44
Other 25 21
None of the above 6 5
* Note that the sum of the categories exceeds 100% as countries were asked to provide answers as to all the technologies they applied.

19. 2010 round findings
Dissemination tools used in 2010 round

20. Looking ahead to the 2020 round
Focusing on five points
Use of administrative registers
Role of social media
Use of tablet computers
Role of the internet
Dissemination of micro data