Coverage and Completeness of Demographic Yearbook Data

1
Coverage and Completeness of Demographic Yearbook
Data
Expert Group Meeting to Review the United
Nations Demographic Yearbook System 10-14
November 2003 New York
Demographic and Social Statistics Branch United
Nations Statistics Division
2
Demographic Yearbook data collection system

• Annual questionnaires
• Population estimates
• Vital statistics
• International travel and migration
• Census questionnaires
• General characteristics
• Economic characteristics
• Household characteristics

3
Country response

• Variations of country/area responses in
• frequency of responses
• completeness
• recency

4
Variations in responses frequency

• Frequency of responses and non-responses for
  annually dispatched questionnaires (1992-2001)

Annual Questionnaires
Population Estimates
Vital Statistics
International Travel and Migration
Number of countries and areas replying at least once to the questionnaires Number of countries and areas replying at least once to the questionnaires Number of countries and areas replying at least once to the questionnaires Number of countries and areas replying at least once to the questionnaires
8-10 times 4-7 times 1-3 times All responses
40 54 76 170
47 56 68 171
0 50 48 98
Number of countries/areas replying at least once As percentage of total
170 73
171 74
98 42
5
Variations in responses completeness
Time period Data provided Number of countries/areas
1985-1994 Responded to the Population census economic characteristics questionnaire 95
1985-1994 Economically active population by industry 77
1985-1994 Economically active population by both industry and status of employment 52
6
Variations in responses recency
Time lag between the year of census and the year
of response (censuses conducted in 1985-2000)
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Barriers to data transfer?
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Factors endogenous to the Demographic Yearbook
system

• 3. Interactions between United Nations
  Statistics Division and National Statistical
  Offices
• Feedback to respondents
• Publicizing the result of the data collection

• 2. Dispatch process of questionnaires
• Timing sending out questionnaires
• Response deadlines
• Medium used

• 1. Design of questionnaires
• Relevancy of topics
• Degree of complexity of tables
• Structure and layout of tables
• Definitions, classifications and explanations
  provided
• Language used in the questionnaire

9
Factors at national level

• Relevance of the request to national priorities
• Resource constraints (human and financial)
• Timeliness of data
• Availability and accessibility of data
• Level of development of the national statistical
  system

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Improve response level

• 1. Reducing the burden of response
• Size, features and content of the Demographic
  Yearbook questionnaires
• Coordination between international and regional
  agencies

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Improve response level (cont.)

• 2. Keeping countries and areas motivated and
  involved in the data collection and dissemination
  processes
• What is the motivation for countries and areas to
  respond consistently?
• What are the products that can be used to inform
  and update countries and areas on the performance
  and achievements of the Demographic Yearbook
  system?

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Improve response level (cont.)

• 3. Strengthening national statistical capacity
• The Demographic Yearbook system seeks to promote
  the dissemination and utilization of national
  data at international level. Is its approach
  far-reaching?
• How can national statistical systems be better
  assisted
• to produce and disseminate basic statistics
  routinely?
• to strengthen the coordination among national
  statistical agencies?