The 2005 Republic of Palau Census of Population and Housing will be used to give a snapshot of Republic of Palau's population and housing at the mid-point of the decade. This Census is also important because it measures the population at the beginning of the implementation of the Compact of Free Association. The information collected in the census is needed to plan for the needs of the population. The government uses the census figures to allocate funds for public services in a wide variety of areas, such as education, housing, and job training. The figures also are used by private businesses, academic institutions, local organizations, and the public in general to understand who we are and what our situation is, in order to prepare better for our future needs.

The fundamental purpose of a census is to provide information on the size, distribution and characteristics of a country's population. The census data are used for policymaking, planning and administration, as well as in management and evaluation of programmes in education, labour force, family planning, housing, health, transportation and rural development. A basic administrative use is in the demarcation of constituencies and allocation of representation to governing bodies. The census is also an invaluable resource for research, providing data for scientific analysis of the composition and distribution of the population and for statistical models to forecast its future growth. The census provides business and industry with the basic data they need to appraise the demand for housing, schools, furnishings, food, clothing, recreational facilities, medical supplies and other goods and services.

Version 1.0 - edited; non-anonymized; basis for published reports.

The scope of the 2005 Palau Census of Population and Housing includes collecting, compiling, evaluating, analysing and releasing demographic and housing, economic and social data pertaining to all persons and their living quarters.

• Collection start: 2005
• Collection end: 2005

Abstract

The 2005 Republic of Palau Census of Population and Housing will be used to give a snapshot of Republic of Palau's population and housing at the mid-point of the decade. This Census is also important because it measures the population at the beginning of the implementation of the Compact of Free Association. The information collected in the census is needed to plan for the needs of the population. The government uses the census figures to allocate funds for public services in a wide variety of areas, such as education, housing, and job training. The figures also are used by private businesses, academic institutions, local organizations, and the public in general to understand who we are and what our situation is, in order to prepare better for our future needs.

The fundamental purpose of a census is to provide information on the size, distribution and characteristics of a country's population. The census data are used for policymaking, planning and administration, as well as in management and evaluation of programmes in education, labour force, family planning, housing, health, transportation and rural development. A basic administrative use is in the demarcation of constituencies and allocation of representation to governing bodies. The census is also an invaluable resource for research, providing data for scientific analysis of the composition and distribution of the population and for statistical models to forecast its future growth. The census provides business and industry with the basic data they need to appraise the demand for housing, schools, furnishings, food, clothing, recreational facilities, medical supplies and other goods and services.

Geographic coverage

A hierarchical geographic presentation shows the geographic entities in a superior/subordinate structure in census products. This structure is derived from the legal, administrative, or areal relationships of the entities. The hierarchical structure is depicted in report tables by means of indentation. The following structure is used for the 2005 Census of the Republic of Palau:

Republic of Palau State Hamlet/Village Enumeration District Block

Analysis unit

Individuals Families Households General Population

Universe

The Census covered all the households and respective residents in the entire country.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

Not applicable to a full enumeration census.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The 2005 Palau Census of Population and Housing comprises three parts: 1. Housing - one form for each household 2. Population - one for for each member of the household 3. People who have left home - one form for each household.

Cleaning operations

Full scale processing and editing activiities comprised eight separate sessions either with or separately but with remote guidance of the U.S. Census Bureau experts to finalize all datasets for publishing stage.

Processing operation was handled with care to produce a set of data that describes the population as clearly and accurately as possible. To meet this objective, questionnaires were reviewed and edited during field data collection operations by crew leaders for consistency, completeness, and acceptability. Questionnaires were also reviewed by census clerks in the census office for omissions, certain inconsistencies, and population coverage. For example, write-in entries such as "Don't know" or "NA" were considered unacceptable in certain quantities and/or in conjunction with other data omissions.

As a result of this review operation, a telephone or personal visit follow-up was made to obtain missing information. Potential coverage errors were included in the follow-up, as well as questionnaires with omissions or inconsistencies beyond the completeness and quality tolerances specified in the review procedures.

Subsequent to field operations, remaining incomplete or inconsistent information on the questionnaires was assigned using imputation procedures during the final automated edit of the collected data. Allocations, or computer assignments of acceptable data in place of unacceptable entries or blanks, were needed most often when an entry for a given item was lacking or when the information reported for a person or housing unit on that item was inconsistent with other information for that same person or housing unit. As in previous censuses, the general procedure for changing unacceptable entries was to assign an entry for a person or housing unit that was consistent with entries for persons or housing units with similar characteristics. The assignment of acceptable data in lace of blanks or unacceptable entries enhanced the usefulness of the data.

Another way to make corrections during the computer editing process is substitution. Substitution is the assignment of a full set of characteristics for a person or housing unit. Because of the detailed field operations, substitution was not needed for the 2005 Census.

Sampling error estimates

Sampling Error is not applicable to full enumeration censuses.

Data appraisal

In any large-scale statistical operation, such as the 2005 Census of the Republic of Palau, human- and machine-related errors were anticipated. These errors are commonly referred to as nonsampling errors. Such errors include not enumerating every household or every person in the population, not obtaining all required information form the respondents, obtaining incorrect or inconsistent information, and recording information incorrectly. In addition, errors can occur during the field review of the enumerators' work, during clerical handling of the census questionnaires, or during the electronic processing of the questionnaires.

To reduce various types of nonsampling errors, a number of techniques were implemented during the planning, data collection, and data processing activities. Quality assurance methods were used throughout the data collection and processing phases of the census to improve the quality of the data.