Censuses
Population census:
A population census is the complete process of collecting, compiling, evaluating,analyzing and publishing or otherwise disseminating demographic, economicand social data pertaining, at a specified time,to all persons in a country or in a well delimitedpart of a country.
Essential features:
1. Individual enumeration
The term “census” implies that each individual and each set of living quarters is enumerated separately and that the characteristics thereof are separately recorded.
2. Universality within a defined territory
The census should cover a precisely defined territory (for example, the entire country or a well-delimited part of it). The population census should include every person present and/or residing within its scope, depending upon the type ofpopulation count required. The housing census should include every set of livingquarters irrespective of type.
3. Simultaneity
Each person and each set of living quarters should be enumerated as of the same well-defined point in time and the data collected should referto a well definedreference period.
4. Defined periodicity
Censuses should be taken at regular intervals so that comparable information is made available in a fixed sequence.A series of censuses makes it possible toappraise the past, accurately describe the present and estimate the future.
The importance of the Population Census
In its most basic form, a population census is a count of a number of inhabitants in a country or territory. Census taking has its beginnings in ancient times and undertaken primarily for taxation purposes. From these early population counts, the modern census evolved around the seventeenth century with the characteristics of universal coverage, wide scope of inquiry and provision of information for statistical and planning purposes.
Today, despite the availability of information of numerous sources of administrative records on the population, most countries still conduct the traditional census to obtain data on the size of the population, its characteristics and its distribution across the various areas within the country. In addition, most countries combine a population census with a census on housing to obtain data on housing conditions.
The census is probably the most comprehensive source of information on population and housing. It meets a variety of needs and serves as the benchmark data for all population and related social statistics. The census must therefore be considered as an exercise of national importance and not just a routine government activity.
The United Nations recommends that a national census be taken at least once every 10 years. As the value of census data is increased if it can be compared internationally, the United Nations further recommends that countries may wish to undertake a census in years ending in ‘0’ or as near years as possible.
Census Objectives:
• The study of gender composition, marital status, and occupation of the population at different administrative divisions.
• The study of population growth and awareness of the periodic variation in their numbers and characteristics.
• The study of population movements between different regions of the state.
• To provide the necessary data as a basis for economic, social and demographic policies.
• To provide sampling frames for households and establishments to be used for the purposes of conducting household and economic surveys.
Historical Background:
The first population census in the state was conducted in 1968 by the Council of Developing Trucial States. A population census of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was also conducted in 1971, and the first general population and establishments census in the UAE was conducted in 1975 which was the first census of its kind in the region in terms of following scientific standards and international recommendations, and was later followed by conducting general censuses in 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2005.
Census Phases:
The implementation of the census project requires organizing and distributing its phases according to a timetable specifying the beginning and end of each phase, the implementation of the census goes through the following main stages:
1. The preparatory phase.
At this phase, the estimated budget for the census is prepared, the functional structure is developed, the questionnaire and its electronic applications are designed. The Administrative Divisions guide, training tools and manuals, and publicity plan are also prepared and employees are selected
2. The field operations phase.
At this stage, census employees are trained and selected at each stage, the areas of work are distributed between them, and tools of implementing, numbering and enumerating buildings, housing, establishments and population are handed over to them.
3. Office auditing and extractig results phase.
At this phase data are reviewed, audited, coded, classified and tabulated. The final results of the census are prepared and published.
What is New with Census 2010?
- Technologically advanced methods have been developed in the 2010 census that include the method of data collection which will be implemented by using advanced, effort saving and fast result-obtaining way. The use of handheld devices (PDA) is a unique experience and a distinctive mark on the international level where this new digital technology was used for the first time in the 2005 census .The work will continue to develop the method better in terms of efficiency and capabilities of devices and ease and simplicity of programming to facilitate the task of workers and raise the quality and speed of obtaining results.
- Geographic information systems will be used for the first time in the 2010 census to issue the first Statistical Atlas of the UAE population through the recording of coordinates of all buildings and link their components, characteristics, and the characteristics of the components of houses, households and members to their locations on the map of the state.
Kids Corner:
What is meant by census?
Like the rest of the world, the United Arab Emirates is implementing what we call the (census), which is to send thousands of interviewers to visit you and visit all the people living in the UAE. Interviewers come to visit you to know the number of rooms and number of family members in each house, how young are they, and how many of them are males and how many are females, what are their nationalities, how many of them go to schools or colleges, and how many go to work to know how many hands build our Emirates. But why is the UAE assigning all these amounts and employing all of these interviewers to visit and collect information about you?
· The most important uses of the information we get from the census is to determine what every region of the UAE needs in terms of services and premises. For example, if they found that the number of children living in a particular area has increased more than in the previous census ten years ago, this may mean they need to build new schools suitable for their ages., or if the number of people working in a city may have increased dramatically it means that the need to construct new roads is necessary so as not to suffer from congestion when they go to work.
· The interviewer will asks you if a family member suffers from a disability of any kind so that the state can look after his or her own needs.
And do not forget that the census seeks to gather information on family members who go to work and on the nature of their work so that we know what kind of specialties need to be studied by students so that we can have people from our beloved country who can perform jobs related to those specialties in the future.