1. Vital statistics and their sources

2. Presentation plan Sources of vital statistics and their pros and cons
- Civil registration
- Population censuses
- Sample surveys
2. Countries’ data sources – a summary of pre-workshop assignments

3. Civil registration system
Continuous, permanent, compulsory, universal
recording
of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events in accordance with the legal requirements in each country

4. Population Censuses
The total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing and publishing or otherwise disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specified time, to all persons in a country.

5. Sample surveys
Household sample surveys collect information for relatively small but scientifically designed samples of the households.

6. Dimension Census Survey Civil Reg.
Pros and cons of the three sources of fertility and mortality data (on the scale of High (H), Medium (M) and Low (L))
Dimension
Census
Survey
Civil Reg.
Cost H M L
Rapidity of processing
M-H
Detailed socio-demographic information
Continuity
Recency of estimates
Information on causes of death

7. Dimension Census Survey Civil Reg.
Pros and cons of the three sources of fertility and mortality data (on the scale of High (H), Medium (M) and Low (L)) (cont’d)
Dimension
Census
Survey
Civil Reg.
Small area statistics H L
Affected by age misreporting M
Long period between two rounds
Presence of sampling errors
Need for assumptions and models for converting responses into vital rates
Geographical detail

8. Results of the questionnaire Data sources
Civil registration systems exist and function in most countries – centralised or decentralised
12 out of 13 countries had a census between
Sample surveys are frequently used

9. Results of the questionnaire: General considerations
Not all ESCWA countries have a functioning civil registration system that can be used to generate vital statistics
Lack of assessment of the completeness of the civil registration
Lack of coherence between vital statistics obtained from different sources

10. Goals of the workshop…
In light of this introduction the discussion in the next four days will focus on:
Introduce the United Nations guidelines for the collection and compilation of vital statistics
Assess the current status of civil registration and vital statistics system in the country

11. … Goals of the workshop
Identify gaps and propose strategies for the improvement of civil registration
Identify good practices that countries might follow (a) to collect data, (b) to calculate vital statistics, (c) to evaluate their quality
Examine the availability of data that countries are able to provide to UNSD through the Demographic Yearbook data collection and look for ways for further improvement.

12. THANK YOU!