�������������������������������� ����������������������� ������������������������������ ���������������������������� ���� ���� ��� Actualités OFS BFS aktuell Attualità UST 1 Population Bevölkerung June 2000 Popolazione The population Census 2000: new and future-led By Werner Haug and Marco Buscher Information: Werner Haug, Tel. 032 713 66 85 or Marco Buscher, Tel. 032 713 68 29 Orders: SFSO sales and distribution, Tel. 032 713 60 60 Order number 001-0014 � SFSO/BFS CH-2010 Neuchâtel Espace de l’Europe 10
BFS aktuell Actualités OFS Attualità UST 2
BFS aktuell Actualités OFS Attualità UST The population Census 2000: 3.use of the Internet for electronic completion of per- new and future-led sonal and household questionnaires; 4.centralization of technical survey tasks in a single By Werner Haug and Marco Buscher national Service Centre. 1. The changing face of the Population Census It also outlines the objectives of the interpretation and analysis programme before looking forward to the The task of population censuses is to collect the fullest problems involved in harmonizing federal, cantonal and possible data (ie without gaps or duplications) about the communal registers. key basic units of the official statistical system (persons, households, dwellings and places of work) on a specific reference day. The importance of a population census 2. Various survey variants: from «Classic» to «Future» derives from its character as a cross-section and full-scale survey which covers even the smallest spatial units (con- The Population Census 2000, with the reference date of stituencies or hectares) of a country. And this 5 December, consists of two inter-linked surveys: the explains the considerable amount of time and money personal and household survey, directed at all residents spent on executing population censuses. In the tradi- of Switzerland, and the building and dwelling survey, tional approach, population censuses are conducted as where house owners and property management agen- surveys of households with the questionnaires being cies have to provide information. Four questionnaires completed either by interviewers or by the interviewees are used for both surveys: the personal questionnaire, themselves. In countries where comprehensive, up-to- the household questionnaire for private households, the date registers with data about basic units are kept and household questionnaire for collective households and inter-linked (inhabitants’ registers, registers of buildings the combined building and dwelling questionnaire for and dwellings, business and company registers), more house-owners. and more population censuses are conducted using coordinated register analysis on a certain date. The Conduct of the building and dwelling survey is to be Nordic countries – Finland, Denmark and, more standardized throughout Switzerland, with centralized recently, Norway and Sweden – are pioneers in this field. dispatch of the material by the SFSO (using the Master address file of buildings). For large property manage- In Switzerland, population censuses have been con- ment agencies, some of which manage up to 20 000 ducted every ten years since 1850 as household surveys apartments, the SFSO has developed special GERIM because, unlike the Nordic countries, there is no tradi- («gérances immobilières») software which lets the tion of keeping centralized registers. However, the situ- agencies use building and dwelling data from their ation is changing, mainly as a result of fast develop- administrative registers, complement them as necessary ments in information technology. In Switzerland too, and submit the whole dataset to the SFSO electroni- citizens rightly expect the State to have modern data cally, thus eliminating the need to complete question- and information administration systems and to use naires. Thanks to GERIM, roughly 20% of buildings information which is already registered before it sub- and 50% of apartments can be surveyed direct by elec- jects people to another survey. And this is the point of tronic means. In contrast, owners with just one directly departure for the Population Census 2000 which fea- building will still have to complete a questionnaire. tures many innovations in respect of register use, creat- ing the preconditions for a sweeping reform of survey For both the personal and household surveys, the SFSO methods after 2000. Parliament and the Federal Council has provided four different methods for communes to created the necessary legal foundation for this with the choose from – an approach which takes account of the revised Population Census Act and its Executive Ordi- very different information technology structures and nance, both of which came into force on 1 March 1999. capacities of inhabitants’ registers in communes and cantons throughout Switzerland. It should be noted that This contribution provides information about important according to the Population Census Act, the individual new features of the Population Census 2000: communes are responsible for conducting and financing the survey. 1.the combining of information from EDP registers with questionnaires; 2.the transition from using enumerators to postal dis- patch and return, in conjunction with the develop- ment of an electronically controlled monitoring and reminder system; 3
BFS aktuell Actualités OFS Attualità UST Diagram 1: The four survey variants Classic Semi-Classic Transit Future Preparation I ( autumn 99) s s g Preparation II s n e i r d d l d i Formation of provisional households Registers already u a b linked r e f t o Instruction of enumerators s Persons Dwellings a e M l i f Update of the building addresses Mail-Management Distribution of quest. POST by enumerators 5.12.2000 Collection of questionnaires by enumerators POST e-census census Internet Internet Control of the returns / sending reminders e- Data capture (scanning) Control of the returns / sending reminders Form. of definitive households SFSO Data processing and analysis While, in the «Classic» variant, enumerators will con- The «Future» approach differs from the «Transit» one tinue to distribute and collect the questionnaires, new mainly in that the commune has both an inhabitants’ procedures are used to varying extents in the «Semi- and a dwellings register. This greatly simplifies the sur- Classic», «Transit» and «Future» approaches. vey because the so-called household construction ie the link between persons, households and dwellings already In the «Semi-Classic» approach, questionnaires are exists. After the Population Census 2000, this approach preprinted with information from communal inhabit- is to become the general rule. ants’ registers and mailed to the households. However, they are collected by enumerators. In December 2000, the various survey variants will be distributed over the communes and the population as In the «Transit» variant also, the questionnaires are follows: preprinted and sent by post. However, they are also re- turned by post, obviating the need to recruit, train and monitor enumerators. 4
Recommend
More recommend
