Introduction

• Most important data sources for demographic research: census and vital statistics

The Population Census

• Census: to assess

• 1st census: Babylon/ancient China

• Past census: didn’t account for all citizens

• 1st series of modern censuses taken at regular intervals: Sweden in 1750

A Brief History of the Canadian Census

• Jean Talon organized the colony’s 1st census in 1666

  • Didn’t include Aboriginal inhabitants or members of the military

• Between 1608 and 1759, 36 censuses were conducted

Contemporary Population Census

• Census: provides a complete account of a country’s population at a point in time

• Statistics Canada: Canada’s statistical bureau

• A national census is very costly and requires extensive preparation and planning

• In Canada, the census takes place every 5 years

• United Nations guidelines

• Census methods

  • De jure method of enumeration: people are counted at their usual place of residence, not wherever they happen to be living at the time of the census. *Used in Canada and US

  • De facto method: people are counted as residents of the address where they happen to have stayed the night preceding the day of the census. *Used in France, UK, Greece, Russia

• Census categories:

  • Demographic characteristics

  • Sociocultural characteristics

  • Socioeconomic characteristics

  • Geographic characteristics

The Census: A Reflection of Its Time

• Changes to the census questionnaire largely mirror sociological change in the population

  • Social trends

  • For new questions:

    • Practical value to the nation broadly speaking

    • Public acceptance of a question

    • Comparability with previous censuses

      *Must be federally approved

• “Children ever born” question

• Unpaid work

• Ethnicity

• Political changes

The Use of Sampling in the Census

• Sampling: data are obtained from a representative sample of household from which it is then possible to derive the characteristics of the population

• National Household Survey (NHS): voluntary survey

  • Lower response rate

• Online participation

Census Undercoverage

• There is always some level of undercounting

  • Indigenous populations

  • Illegal immigrants

  • Criminals

  • Nomads

  • Homeless

• Overcoverage: when a person is enumerated more than once

Population Estimates

• Population estimates

  • Postcensal: produced by using data from the most recent census + estimated of the components of demographic change since that last census

  • Intercensal: produced every 5 years and reconcile previous postcensal estimates with the latest census counts

• Population projections: series of population estimates, typically by age and sex, derived from the application of assumptions regarding change in the demographic components over the course of a defined time horizon

Specialized Population Surveys

• Surveys of the labor force: taken routinely

• Current Population Survey (in the US)

• Aboriginal People’s Survey

• National Population Health Survey

Vital Statistics

• Vital statistics were 1st compiled by churches

Early Investigations of Vital Records and the Origins of Population Studies

• Important founding fathers of demography

  • Thomas Malthus

  • John Graunt → Bills of Mortality

  • William Petty → national accounting systems

  • Antoine Deparcieux → exposure to risk in mortality analysis

Modern Vital Statistics Systems

• National vital statistics system: collect, compile, and process statistical information on all vital events that take place in the population on a daily basis

  • Requirements

  • List of vital events that must be reported in Canada

    • Live birth

    • Death

    • Fetal death

    • Therapeutic abortion

    • Marriage

    • Divorce

    • Legal separation

    • Annulment

    • Adoption

• Definitions are not universally applied everywhere

• Underregistration of vital events

Population Registers

• Population register: change of residence, births, deaths, marriages, and divorces must be declared to the authorities

Monitoring Migratory Movements

• Arrangements between countries

• Internal migration: monitoring of this is done through tax files

• Census

Indirect Estimation of Vital Events

• Poor countries

  • Lack of necessary infrastructure

  • Lack of funds to support institutions

  • Leads to estimations based on incomplete information

Canadian Vital Statistics: Background and Overview

• Dominion Bureau of Statistics founded in 1918 (currently Statistics Canada)

• Canadian vital statistics system: obtain and preserve such documentary evidence as is necessary to protect the legal rights of the individual