The key objective of every census is to count every person (man, woman, child) resident in the country on census night, and also collect information on assorted demographic (sex, age, marital status, citizenship) and socio-economic (education/qualifications; labour force and economic activity) information, as well as data pertinent to household and housing characteristics. This count provides a complete picture of the population make-up in each village and town, of each island and region, thus allowing for an assessment of demographic change over time.

The need for a national census became obvious to the Census Office (Bureau of Statistics) during 1997 when a memo was submitted to government officials proposing the need for a national census in an attempt to update old socio-economic figures. The then Acting Director of the Bureau of Statistics and his predecessor shared a similar view: that the 'heydays' and 'prosperity' were nearing their end. This may not have been apparent, as it took until almost mid-2001 for the current Acting Government Statistician to receive instructions to prepare planning for a national census targeted for 2002. It has been repeatedly said that for adequate planning at the national level, information about the characteristics of the society is required. With such information, potential impacts can be forecast and policies can be designed for the improvement and benefit of society. Without it, the people, national planners and leaders will inevitably face uncertainties.

Version 01: Cleaned, labelled and de-identified version of the Master file.

• HOUSEHOLD: Basic household characteristics of the private dwellings, including tenure, sanitation, water and electricity, household wealth and household activities.

• INDIVIDUAL: Basic demographic characteristics of individuals in a particular household dwelling, including age, sex, ethnicity, religion, internal migration, educational attainment, economic activity and fertility.

• Collection start: 2002

• Collection end: 2002

Abstract

The key objective of every census is to count every person (man, woman, child) resident in the country on census night, and also collect information on assorted demographic (sex, age, marital status, citizenship) and socio-economic (education/qualifications; labour force and economic activity) information, as well as data pertinent to household and housing characteristics. This count provides a complete picture of the population make-up in each village and town, of each island and region, thus allowing for an assessment of demographic change over time.

The need for a national census became obvious to the Census Office (Bureau of Statistics) during 1997 when a memo was submitted to government officials proposing the need for a national census in an attempt to update old socio-economic figures. The then Acting Director of the Bureau of Statistics and his predecessor shared a similar view: that the 'heydays' and 'prosperity' were nearing their end. This may not have been apparent, as it took until almost mid-2001 for the current Acting Government Statistician to receive instructions to prepare planning for a national census targeted for 2002. It has been repeatedly said that for adequate planning at the national level, information about the characteristics of the society is required. With such information, potential impacts can be forecast and policies can be designed for the improvement and benefit of society. Without it, the people, national planners and leaders will inevitably face uncertainties.

Geographic coverage

National coverage as the Population Census covers the whole of Nauru.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual (in a private household dwelling, institutions and non-private dwelling).

Universe

The Census covers all individuals living in private and non-private dwellings and institutions.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling deviation

There is no sampling for the population census, full coverage.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was based on the Pacific Islands Model Population and Housing Census Form and the 1992 census, and comprised two parts: a set of household questions, asked only of the head of household, and an individual questionnaire, administered to each household member. Unlike the previous census, which consisted of a separate household form plus two separate individual forms for Nauruans and non-Nauruans, the 2 002 questionnaire consisted of only one form separated into different parts and sections. Instructions (and skips) were desi

The questionnaire cover recorded various identifiers: district name, enumeration area, house number, number of households (family units) residing, total number of residents, gender, and whether siblings of the head of the house were also recorded. The second page, representing a summary page, listed every individual residing within the house. This list was taken by the enumerator on the first visit, on the eve of census night. The first part of the census questionnaire focused on housing-related questions. It was administered only once in each household, with questions usually asked of the household head. The household form asked the same range of questions as those covered in the 1992 census, relating to type of housing, structure of outer walls, water supply sources and storage, toilet and cooking facilities, lighting, construction materials and subsistence-type activities. The second part of the census questionnaire focused on individual questions covering all household members. This section was based on the 1992 questions, with notable differences being the exclusion of income-level questions and the expansion of fertility and mortality questions. As in 1992, a problem emerged during questionnaire design regarding the question of who or what should determine a ‘Nauruan’. Unlike the 1992 census, where the emphasis was on blood ties, the issue of naturalisation and citizenship through the sale of passports seriously complicated matters in 2 002. To resolve this issue, it was decided to apply two filtering processes: Stage 1 identified persons with tribal heritage through manual editing, and Stage 2 identified persons of Nauruan nationality and citizenship through designed skips in the questionnaire that were incorporated in the data-processing programming.

The topics of questions for each of the parts include: - Person Particulars: - name - relationship - sex - ethnicity - religion - educational attainment - Economic Activity (to all persons 15 years and above): - economic activity - economic inactive - employment status - Fertility: - Fertility - Mortality - Labour Force Activity: - production of cash crops - fishing - own account businesses - handicrafts. - Disability: - type of disability - nature of disability - Household and housing: - electricity - water - tenure - lighting - cooking - sanitation - wealth ownerships

Cleaning operations

Coding, data entry and editing Coding took longer than expected when the Census Office found that more quality-control checks were required before coding could take place and that a large number of forms still required attention. While these quality-control checks were supposed to have been done by the supervisors in the field, the Census Office decided to review all census forms before commencing the coding. This process took approximately three months, before actual data processing could begin. The amount of additional time required to recheck the quality of every census form meant that data processing fell behind schedule. The Census Office had to improvise, with a little pressure from external stakeholders, and coding, in conjunction with data entry, began after recruiting two additional data entry personnel. All four Census Office staff became actively involved with coding, with one staff member alternating between coding and data entry, depending on which process was dropping behind schedule. In the end, the whole process took almost two months to complete. Prior to commencing data entry, the Census Office had to familiarise itself with the data entry processing system. For this purpose, SPC’s Demography/Population Programme was invited to lend assistance. Two office staff were appointed to work with Mr Arthur Jorari, SPC Population Specialist, who began by revising their skills for the data processing software that had been introduced by Dr McMurray. This training attachment took two weeks to complete. Data entry was undertaken using the 2 .3 version of the US Census Bureau’s census and surveying processing software, or CSPro2.3. This version was later updated to CSPro2.4, and all data were transferred accordingly. Technical assistance for data editing was provided by Mr Jorari over a two-week period. While most edits were completed during this period, it was discovered that some batches of questionnaires had not been entered during the initial data capturing. Therefore, batch-edit application had to be regenerated. This process was frequently interrupted by power outages prevailing at the time, which delayed data processing considerably and also required much longer periods of technical support to the two Nauru data processing staff via phone or email (when available).

Data appraisal

Data was compared with Administrative records after the Census to review the quality and reliability of the data.

Abstract

The key objective of every census is to count every person (man, woman, child) resident in the country on census night, and also collect information on assorted demographic (sex, age, marital status, citizenship) and socio-economic (education/qualifications; labour force and economic activity) information, as well as data pertinent to household and housing characteristics. This count provides a complete picture of the population make-up in each village and town, of each island and region, thus allowing for an assessment of demographic change over time.

The need for a national census became obvious to the Census Office (Bureau of Statistics) during 1997 when a memo was submitted to government officials proposing the need for a national census in an attempt to update old socio-economic figures. The then Acting Director of the Bureau of Statistics and his predecessor shared a similar view: that the 'heydays' and 'prosperity' were nearing their end. This may not have been apparent, as it took until almost mid-2001 for the current Acting Government Statistician to receive instructions to prepare planning for a national census targeted for 2002. It has been repeatedly said that for adequate planning at the national level, information about the characteristics of the society is required. With such information, potential impacts can be forecast and policies can be designed for the improvement and benefit of society. Without it, the people, national planners and leaders will inevitably face uncertainties.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual

Universe

The census covers all individuals living in private and non-private dwellings and institutions.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was based on the Pacific Islands Model Population and Housing Census Form and the 1992 census, and comprised two parts: a set of household questions, asked only of the head of household, and an individual questionnaire, administered to each household member. Unlike the previous census, which consisted of a separate household form plus two separate individual forms for Nauruans and non-Nauruans, the 2002 questionnaire consisted of only one form separated into different parts and sections.

The questionnaire cover recorded various identifiers: district name, enumeration area, house number, number of households (family units) residing, total number of residents, gender, and whether siblings of the head of the house were also recorded. The second page, representing a summary page, listed every individual residing within the house. This list was taken by the enumerator on the first visit, on the eve of census night. The first part of the census questionnaire focused on housing-related questions. It was administered only once in each household, with questions usually asked of the household head. The household form asked the same range of questions as those covered in the 1992 census, relating to type of housing, structure of outer walls, water supply sources and storage, toilet and cooking facilities, lighting, construction materials and subsistence-type activities. The second part of the census questionnaire focused on individual questions covering all household members. This section was based on the 1992 questions, with notable differences being the exclusion of income-level questions and the expansion of fertility and mortality questions. As in 1992, a problem emerged during questionnaire design regarding the question of who or what should determine a ‘Nauruan’. Unlike the 1992 census, where the emphasis was on blood ties, the issue of naturalisation and citizenship through the sale of passports seriously complicated matters in 2002. To resolve this issue, it was decided to apply two filtering processes: Stage 1 identified persons with tribal heritage through manual editing, and Stage 2 identified persons of Nauruan nationality and citizenship through designed skips in the questionnaire that were incorporated in the data-processing programming.

The topics of questions for each of the parts include: - Person Particulars: - name - relationship - sex - ethnicity - religion - educational attainment - Economic Activity (to all persons 15 years and above): - economic activity - economic inactive - employment status - Fertility: - Fertility - Mortality - Labour Force Activity: - production of cash crops - fishing - own account businesses - handicrafts. - Disability: - type of disability - nature of disability - Household and housing: - electricity - water - tenure - lighting - cooking - sanitation - wealth ownerships

Cleaning operations

Coding, data entry and editing

Coding took longer than expected when the Census Office found that more quality-control checks were required before coding could take place and that a large number of forms still required attention. While these quality-control checks were supposed to have been done by the supervisors in the field, the Census Office decided to review all census forms before commencing the coding. This process took approximately three months, before actual data processing could begin.

The amount of additional time required to recheck the quality of every census form meant that data processing fell behind schedule. The Census Office had to improvise, with a little pressure from external stakeholders, and coding, in conjunction with data entry, began after recruiting two additional data entry personnel. All four Census Office staff became actively involved with coding, with one staff member alternating between coding and data entry, depending on which process was dropping behind schedule. In the end, the whole process took almost two months to complete.

Prior to commencing data entry, the Census Office had to familiarise itself with the data entry processing system. For this purpose, SPC's Demography/Population Programme was invited to lend assistance. Two office staff were appointed to work with Mr Arthur Jorari, SPC Population Specialist, who began by revising their skills for the data processing software that had been introduced by Dr McMurray. This training attachment took two weeks to complete. Data entry was undertaken using the 2 .3 version of the US Census Bureau's census and surveying processing software, or CSPro2.3. This version was later updated to CSPro2.4, and all data were transferred accordingly.

Technical assistance for data editing was provided by Mr Jorari over a two-week period. While most edits were completed during this period, it was discovered that some batches of questionnaires had not been entered during the initial data capturing. Therefore, batch-edit application had to be regenerated. This process was frequently interrupted by power outages prevailing at the time, which delayed data processing considerably and also required much longer periods of technical support to the two Nauru data processing staff via phone or email (when available).

Data appraisal

Data was compared with Administrative records after the Census to review the quality and reliability of the data.