Ethno-cultural groups in Population Censuses

1
Ethno-cultural groups in Population Censuses

• An evaluation of the UNECE/EUROSTAT
  Recommendations for Population Censuses and
  proposals for the 2010 round of Censuses
• Dr. Werner Haug, Switzerland
• (Werner.Haug_at_bfs.admin.ch)

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The relevance of Population Censuses

• Data on ethno-cultural groups are important for
  democracy and good governance, cultural
  development, integration policies and the
  protection of minority rights (see e.g. UNDP,
  Human development report 2004).
• Population Censuses are still the most important
  and in many countries the only source of
  statistical data on the ethnic, language and
  religious groups in the population. This
  essentially for two reasons
• In most cases, sample surveys cant catch
  ethno-cultural groups adequately because the
  groups are too small and unevenly distributed in
  the country.
• Register data are generally not available because
  of the politically sensitive, often subjective
  and potentially unstable nature of ethno-cultural
  characteristics.

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Incomplete Census Recommendations

• Although most countries of the world collect data
  on ethno-cultural characteristics of the
  population, the UN Census recommendations remain
  vague and leave definitions, data collection
  procedures and classifications entirely to
  national statistical authorities.
• An increasing body of statistical experience and
  scientific analysis is available that allows to
  improve the recommendations and thus contribute
  to better data quality in national contexts and
  to enhanced international comparability of data.

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Ethnic affiliation in 2000
Total 46 countries in the UNECE region Number of countries asking a question of Total
Ethnic affiliation total 29 63
According to recommendations 25 86
Other approach 4 16
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Ethnic affiliation in 2000

• It is quite impressive to see that 29 countries
  (out of 46) asked a question regarding ethnic
  affiliation. Those who did not are mostly in
  Western Europe. 2 countries restricted the
  question to certain subpopulations (e.g.
  Gypsies), 2 asked in addition for ancestry and
  race (UK, USA).
• The high compliance with the recommendations is
  essentially the result of the lack of detail of
  the 2000 recommendations. They include only a
  general definition of ethnic group (common origin
  and cultural particularities), a reference to the
  notion of national group (without explicit
  distinction from ethnic group) and they underline
  the principle of self-declaration.

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Language in 2000
Total 46 countries of UN/ECE region Number of countries asking a question of Total
Language total 35 76
a) Mother tongue 21 60
b) Main language 3 8
c) Most spoken language(s) 11 31
d) Knowledge of language(s) 19 54
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Language in 2000

• Three of four countries asked at least one
  question on language. Some countries limited the
  question to certain minority languages or the use
  of the majority language.
• The 2000 recommendations were much more detailed
  than in the case of ethnic group and religion and
  distinguished four different questions, two
  questions with only one possible answer (a, b)
  and two with the possibility of multiple answers
  (c,d).
• The proposed priorities for questions b main
  language and c most spoken language were however
  not followed.

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Religion 2000
Total 46 countries of UN/ECE region Number of countries asking a question of Total
Religion total 24 52
a) Formal membership 6 25
b) Religious belief 9 38
c) Participation in religious practice - 0
Other concepts 9 38
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Religion 2000

• One of two countries asked a question regarding
  religious communities and denominations. The
  questions regarding religion are the most
  sensitive (from the data protection point of
  view) but very often there is also less diversity
  than with respect to language and ethnic group.
• Three different concepts were proposed. One
  concept (religious practice) was never used and
  9 countries choose a slightly different concept,
  referring to the identification with certain
  communities or denominations.
• The proposed priority for question a formal
  membership of a church or community in the case
  of a single question was not followed either.

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General issues and proposals I

• Questions regarding ethnicity, language are of
  relevance to an increasing number of countries as
  a result of migration processes and minority
  policies. At the same time, it is increasingly
  recognized that the questions are complex and
  multifaceted.
• To gain a deeper understanding of the origins and
  diversity of populations, data about the
  ethno-cultural characteristics of different
  generations (parents and grand-parents, i.e.
  ancestry) become highly relevant.

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General issues and proposals II

• Affiliation with ethnic group is distinct from
  language and/or religion, although overlaps are
  frequent. The combined collection and analysis of
  data on ethnic affiliation, language and/or
  religion is particularly informative for the
  understanding of cultural diversity.
• Questions on ethno-cultural characteristics have
  subjective dimensions and groups are often small.
  The free declaration of the respondents is
  therefore of crucial importance and has to be
  safeguarded.

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General issues and proposals III

• All items should include an open answer box (not
  precoded) to allow for the free identification of
  small groups.
• The transparency of concepts for the interviewers
  and the respondents during field work and the
  full documentation of coding and classification
  procedures in census reports is of crucial
  importance.

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General issues and proposals III

• Register data are only of limited relevance to
  the topic and can at best cover certain aspects
  (e.g. the formal membership of a church or
  religious community or the official language in a
  given territory).
• Representatives of ethnic, language and religious
  minority groups should be allowed to participate
  in the drafting of census questionnaires, the
  definition of classifications and the field work
  to assure the correct understanding of the
  questions and to guarantee the full participation
  of minority populations.

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Specific issues ethnic affiliation

• The recommendations should be enriched and
  contain more detail
• The definition should be enlarged include a
  reference to ways of life/customs and to the
  concept of colour and race
• Propose questions on ethnic origin/ancestry
• Insist on the distinction between ethnic
  affilialtion and nationality (in the sense of
  citizenship)
• Delete notion of national group, consider it a
  subgroup of ethnic group
• Adress the issue of children from mixed marriages
  and the problem of multiple identities

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Specific issues language

• Drop the priority of main language before mother
  tongue and the priority of spoken language before
  the knowledge of languages
• Include a reference to the need for multilingual
  questionnaires or questionnaires in different
  languages
• Insist on the importance of interviewers that
  speak the minority languages

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Specific issues religion

• Change the list of proposed questions drop
  question on religious practices
• Introduce new questions on 1. identification with
  a community or denomination and 2. the
  denomination in which a person was brought up
• Drop the priority for the question on formal
  membership of a church or coummunity
• Insist on the possibility to answer  none 
• Propose a common classification of the main world
  religions and denominations