/ 16 September 2011

Your guide to the census

Your Guide To The Census

From October 10 to 31, a census enumerator will come knocking on your door armed with a 14-page questionnaire. Each question is designed to acquire anonymous data to assist the state and private sector with planning.

“The census questionnaire takes into account different data needs from government and other stakeholders,” says Jean-Marie Hakizimana, the census technical adviser for Statistics South Africa, the country’s statistical agency. The following outlines different areas in the census questionnaire, looking at why certain types of information are required.

Demographics
These questions look at age, sex, marital status, population group and language. The most important demographic data are age and sex because they show the main population profile of the country that can be localised when mapped by area. Beyond that, the variables are predominantly used for social differentiation, providing government with an understanding of which sections of society require additional support.

Migration
Migration asks questions about place of birth, whether an individual is a South African citizen or, if not, when he or she moved to South Africa. It also asks for details about a respondent’s usual place of residence and previous residence, including the length of stay at these places. Stats SA is not concerned about whether an individual has legal residence. The focus is on data collection and whether there has been movement across areas. “Migration questions are bound to the time of reference in the case of South Africa. Other countries, such as the United States, define a de jure population where the usual residence is considered as the legal place of residence,” says Hakizimana. Migration data shows the movement of people in or out of different areas. Places that attract more people may need more resources and planning may need to be adjusted to “abandoned” areas, so that people can be motivated to stay in those regions.

General health and functioning
This section aims to determine whether a respondent has a disability and the severity of that person’s impaired functioning and whether any type of health intervention is required. Assisting those with disabilities is a government priority. The percentage of disabled people is too small for a survey to provide adequate data and consequently disability status is better reflected in a national census.

Parental survival and income
Parental survival information is used to estimate the probability of adult survival. Adult survival figures contribute to estimating life expectancy, which is an indicator in the United Nations millennium development goals (MDGs). This is then correlated with the level of a country’s development. South Africa has committed to these numerical benchmarks from the UN. Hakizimana says not only do these data provide an indicator of life expectancy, they also assist in addressing targeted programmes, such as those for the elderly. Under the income category, Stats SA tries to obtain a profile of income distribution for different areas and not individual income. This is necessary for local government planning to target intervention for places in need of support, for example a school or hospital in an area of poverty.

Education
The educational questions are around school attendance, type of educational institution, level and field of education, as well as literacy. Education is a government priority and literacy is one of the MDGs in which literacy level improvement is correlated to improved living circumstances. With information on school attendance being the only statistic available to the department of education, the national census data shows the percentage of school-going children who are not attending school. Educational statistics will indicate progress — or lack thereof — in relation to skills development and capacity building for South Africa. The information is also used as a measure to project unemployment figures because education and skills underscore future employment.

Employment
According to UN and International Labour Organisation guidelines, questions on employment are framed within seven days and represent a week of work, work status, industry, sector and type of work. The order of the questions aims to capture accurately net employment figures. “There are safety-check questions that include those who are employed but have been absent as a result of other reasons and that exclude those who are not economically active, such as pensioners,” says Hakizimana. These questions help to differentiate between those who are economically active and those who are not. Economically active refers to those individuals looking for work who are aged between 15 and 65 and who have the potential to work. Economically active does not refer to being employed. Hakizimana says employment statistics are a measure of economic activity and are essential policy monitoring tools. The Stats SA Labour Force survey also provides employment statistics but these are limited to national and provincial figures. The census provides information that drills down to municipal level.

Fertility
Fertility questions are asked of women age 12 to 50. They cover the number of children born, maternal age at first birth, number of surviving and deceased children, date of last birth, and the sex and date of death of the last deceased child. The questions provide data to calculate the fertility rate, a ratio representing the number of live births in a given period against the age of child-bearing women, and child mortality data. These help to monitor progress in health-related programmes.

Housing and agriculture
This covers type of living quarters, construction material, number of rooms, tenure status, estimated value and age of the property, access, details about services such as water and refuse disposal, type of household goods, access to the internet and agricultural activities. “Most of government’s service delivery is monitored using these variables, which show living circumstances and access to service delivery,” says Hakizimana.

Census 2011 will collect, for the first time, additional information to be used in specialised economic surveys regarding the value and age of properties as a benchmark measure for the consumer price index. The questions relating to agriculture activities will be used to create a frame for future agriculture surveys.

Mortality
This section focuses on details regarding deaths over the past 12 months. The measure of mortality assists to monitor progress in the reduction of deaths in South African households. The mortality statistics also assist government to provide improved health interventions that are targeted at specific groups or communities.

How data affects policy

The information collected in the census is used to produce statistics that assist in policy outcomes in the following areas, among others:

  • Analysis of the population structure;
  • Assessment of programmes on gender equity, ageing population and infant, children and productive groups;
  • Planning and monitoring of educational programmes and skills development and capacity building programmes;
  • Planning, monitoring and evaluation of housing, health and welfare programmes;
  • Measurement of population change and population distribution;
  • Monitoring movements of population and the evaluation of resources;
  • Studies of sociological problems connected with bachelorhood, widowhood and divorce; and
  • Determining the labour force incidence on a municipal level.

This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as an advertorial supplement