Population Census

225 Pages·2009·1.04 MB·English

CSO-M-POPU-2-2009

MANUAL

ON

VITAL STATISTICS

June 2009

Government of India
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
Central Statistical Organisation
PREFACE

One of the mandates of the Central Statistical Organisation [CSO] is that of laying down
norms and standards and evolving concepts, definitions, methodology and classification in
relation to official statistics. Even though the CSO has been performing these mandates in many
fields of statistics, the absence of proper documentation in this regard led to a decision to
prepare, to start with, statistical manuals in respect of an identified list of 24 subjects detailing
concepts, definitions, classification procedures, compilation of data, estimating procedures,
dissemination and other relevant explanatory notes, including methodological framework in the
statistical indicators/statistics to make these manuals comprehensive reference books comparable
to the manuals being brought out by the UNSD from time to time.

2. This manual on Population Census is one in the series of such manuals on statistical
indicators proposed to be brought out by the CSO. The basic purpose of this manual, like those
of the others in the series, is to provide the users of Indian Census data with a ready-to-use
reference guide inter-alia on methodological aspects of data (metadata) on census based on
harmonised concepts and methodologies that, among other things, facilitate international
comparison and help in aggregation of statistics to draw meaningful conclusions. Another
purpose of this manual is to provide the statistical offices, both at the national and state levels,
with guidelines in the compilation of population census data.

3. The details/information included in this manual are expected to bring about
harmonization and uniformly in concepts, definitions and methodology of compilation of
population census data. The adoption of the methodology suggested in this manual, it is
expected, can go a long way in facilitating data aggregation and data comparison, not only at
intra-regional and inter-regional levels, but also at the international levels.

4. This manual has been prepared, basically at the instance of the Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO), by Shri K.S. Natarajan, Deputy Registrar General of India (Rtd.) under the
guidance of Steering Committee for Preparation of Manuals on Statistical Indicators headed by
the Director General, CSO. I take this opportunity to place on record the support provided by the
concerned officers of Registrar of India and the Social Statistics Division of CSO in bringing
about improvement in the draft of the manual.

5. I hope that this manual will serve as a useful reference document on the subject. Any
comments/suggestions towards improving the scope, contents, lay out etc. of this manual from
the readers/users of this manual would be welcome and deeply appreciated.

(S. K. Das)
New Delhi
Director General
Dated June 2, 2009 Central
Statistical Organisation

I - SOURCES OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IN INDIA

1.1 Important sources of demographic data in India are (1) Population
Census (2 ) Civil registration system (3) Demographic sample surveys such
as National Sample Surveys (NSS), Sample Registration System (SRS) and
(4) Health Surveys, such as National Family Health Surveys, (NFHS), District
level household Surveys for assessing progress under the Reproductive
and Child Health programme (DLHS-RCH ). This manual discusses the
salient features of each of these sources of demographic data, their
strengths and limitations.
Population Census
1.2 India has a record of unbroken census since 1881. The census of
1881 was the first step forward towards a modern synchronous and
comprehensive operation in which a lot of effort was made not only to
ensure complete coverage but also on the classification of data by
demographic, economic and social characteristics. Since then the census
provides a population database at 10 year intervals. While there was no
statutory backing for collecting population census data, in British India,
after independence, a comprehensive Act has been enacted to
conduct census and collect data.
1.3 Population Census is the most comprehensive source of
demographic data in India. The advantage of census is that some of the
data like population size by sex, literacy status and number of workers are
available at lowest area level. A large set of data are also available at
district and state level. Data available up to district level are: (1) Age-Sex
Distribution, (2) Marital Status, (3) population classified by educational
level, religion & mother tongue and (5) Population classified by worker
and non worker ,industrial and occupational classification of workers and
migration . Data on housing condition, a few basic amenities available to
the household, and fertility are also available in recent censuses.
Civil Registration System
1.4 According to the United Nations, civil registration is defined as the
continuous permanent and compulsory recording of the occurrence of
vital events, like, live births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces as
well as annulments, judicial separation, adoptions, legitimations and
recognitions. Civil registration is performed under a law, decree or
regulation so as to provide a legal basis to the records and certificates
made from the system, which has got several uses in the personal life of
individual citizens. Moreover, the information collected through the
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registration process provides very useful and important vital statistics also
on a continuous basis at the national level starting from the smallest
administrative unit. In fact, obtaining detailed vital statistics on regular
basis is one of the major functions of the Civil Registration System (CRS) in
several countries of the world. Vital Statistics records obtained under CRS
have got administrative uses in designing and implementing public health
programmes and carrying out social, demographic and historical
research. For an individual, the birth registration records provide legal
proof of identity and civil status, age, nationality, dependency status etc.,
on which depend a wide variety of rights.

1.5 The office of the Registrar General of India was created in
1951 and the vital statistics department was transferred to this office from
the Director of Health Services in 1960. On deliberations and
recommendations of various committees, the Registration of Births and
Deaths Act (1969) was enacted by Parliament to enforce uniform civil
registration throughout the country.
National Sample Survey

1.6 Data on fertility and mortality derivable from the census are not very
reliable and they are also available only once in ten years. In the absence
of reliable data from the civil registration system (CRS), the need for
reliable vital statistics at national and state levels is being met through
sample surveys launched from time to time. At the instance of the then
Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, a large scale sample survey
agency known as National Sample Survey (NSS) came into existence in
1950 on the recommendations of the National Income Committee
chaired by Late Professor P. C. Mahalanobis. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the
National Sample Survey attempted to provide reliable estimates of birth
and death rates through its regular rounds. However, the release of 1961
census data indicated that the birth rates and death rates and a
consequently the growth rates were often not estimated correctly. Many
analysts at that point of time felt that the onetime retrospective recall
surveys such as National Sample survey may not be able to estimate the
vital rates correctly.
Sample Registration System (SRS)

1.7 Taking into account the view that NSS could not provide the
estimates of vital rates correctly, a search for alternative procedures to
estimate vital rates was attempted. The sample registration system (SRS)
was one such attempt. The Government of India, in the late 1960s,
initiated the Sample Registration System that is based on a Dual
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Recording System. In the Sample Registration System, there is a continuous
enumeration of births and deaths in a sample of villages/urban blocks by
a resident part-time enumerator and then, an independent six monthly
retrospective survey by a full time supervisor. The data obtained through
these two sources are matched. The unmatched and partially matched
events are re-verified in the field to obtain the correct number of events. .
At present, the Sample Registration System (SRS) provides reliable annual
data on fertility and mortality at the state and national levels, for the rural
and urban areas separately. In this survey, the sample units, villages in rural
areas and urban blocks in urban areas, are replaced once in ten years.
Health surveys
1.8 In the last decade, a few important sources for demographic data
have emerged. These are the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), and
the District Level Household Surveys (DLHS) conducted for the evaluation
of reproductive and child Health programmes. Three rounds of NFHS
surveys have been completed. These provide inter-alia estimates of
fertility, child mortality and a number of health parameters relating to
infants and children at the state level. They also provide information on
the availability of health and family planning services to pregnant and
other women in reproductive ages. The DLHS provides information, at the
district level, on a number of indicators relating to child health,
reproductive health problems and the quality of services available to the
target groups. Three rounds of surveys have been conducted so far. In
each round surveys have been conducted in two phases spread over two
years. In the first two rounds of surveys, in each phase of the survey, half
of the districts in a state have been covered. The third round of the survey
has also been completed in the form of District Level Household and
Facility Survey (DLHS-3), which is one of the largest ever demographic and
health surveys carried out in India, with a sample size of about seven lakh
households covering all the districts of the country. As in the cases of
DLHS-1 and DLHS-2, in the case of DLHS-3 as well, the International Institute
for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai was the nodal agency to conduct
the survey. Like the other two earlier rounds of DLHS Surveys, DLHS-3 was
also designed to provide estimates on important indicators on maternal
and child health, family planning and other reproductive health services.
In addition, DLHS-3 provides information on important interventions of the
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Unlike the previous two rounds in
which only currently married women (age 15-44 years), DLHS-3
interviewed ever-married women (age 15-49 years) and never married
women (age 15-24 years). DLHS-3 adopted a multi-stage stratified
sampling design and sampled households representing a district vary from
1000 to 1500. DLHS-3 provides the latest statistics for examining the
performance of the programme implementation in the health sector. The
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information available from this survey on health and family welfare
indicators will help the programme managers at the district level to
monitor the implementation and to take necessary corrective measures,
if, whenever and wherever called for. Uniform bi-lingual questionnaires,
both in English and the local language, were used in DLHS-3 viz.
Household, Ever Married Women (age 15-49 years), un-married women
(age 15-24 years), Village and Health Facility Questionnaires. The DLHS-3 is
a first population linked facility survey conducted in India.

1.9 The chapters that follow discuss in detail the data emerging
from the above sources, their strengths, limitations, the organizational
details and the data collected.

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II - POPULATION CENSUS
Definition of a population census

2.1 Oxford dictionary defines census as ‘an official count or survey of
population’. The Webster’s dictionary defines it as an official enumeration
of the population, with details such as age, sex occupation etc. The
United Nations Document-‘Principles and Recommendations for National
Population Censuses’ defines the census of population as "the total
process of collecting, compiling and publishing demographic, economic
and social data pertaining, at a specified time or times, to all persons in a
country or delimited territory."1 The word official does not occur in UN
definition. However, the UN manual discusses later on the legal basis for
census, which implies that census has to be conducted by an official
agency.
Essential features of a population census

Individual Enumeration

2.2 A ‘census’ implies that each individual is enumerated separately
and that the characteristics of each person in the total population, or in a
representative sample of the total population, are separately recorded.
Only by this procedure can the data on various characteristics be cross
classified. Individual enumeration does not preclude the use of sampling
techniques for obtaining data on specified characteristics, provided that
the sample design is consistent with the size of areas for which the data
are to be tabulated and the degree of details in the cross tabulation to
be made.

Universality within a defined territory

2.3 The population figures have no meaning unless they refer to a well
defined territory. The territory covered, along with any changes in its area
in successive censuses, should be clearly and explicitly stated. Each
person present and/or residing within its scope, without omission or
duplication, should be included in the census to ensure completeness and
accuracy of census data.

Simultaneity

1 United Nations ,Principles and Recommendations for the 1970 Population Censuses, Statistical papers,
Series M,No.44, 1967,pp 3-4
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2.4 The total population enumerated should refer to one well defined
point of time and the data collected should also refer to a well defined
point or period of time. This is essential to an accurate count of the total
population and relationship of facts about the population to a specified
period of time. As a general rule, a day is fixed for the census and also a
particular moment which is called the "census moment". In India, the
"Census moment" is usually the sunrise of 1st March, of the census year.
However, in the 1971 census, it was the sunrise of 1st April. In 2001 census1 “
Census moment “ was 00.00 hours of 1st March 2001. The fixing of the
"census moment" helps the enumerators to decide which persons are to
be included in the census. The persons born after the census moment or
the persons dying before the census moment are to be excluded from the
census. Some of the characteristics of the population like age, marital
status, occupation, literacy and birthplace etc., are referred to a period
of time usually from 10th February to 28th February of the census year to
ensure simultaneity.

2.5 Because of the adverse climatic conditions or unforeseen
contingencies, the population census is sometimes carried out non
synchronously. For example, in 2001 census, in Jammu and Kashmir and
certain snow bound areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh ,the
Population enumeration was carried out during 11th to 30th
September,2000, with a revision round from 1st to 5th October 2000. Due
to devastating earth quake in Gujarat on 26th January, the 2001 census
enumeration was suspended in the entire district of Kachch,Morvi, Maliya-
Miana and Wankaner talukas of Rajkot district and Jodiya taluka of
Jamnagar district.

2.6 Again, due to disturbed conditions,census could not be conducted
in the States of Assam in 1981 and in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991.

2.7 The first attempted census in India during 1871-72 was non-
synchronous. The original intention was to take a simultaneous count on all
the parts of India on 15-11-1871.In practice ,it was taken on different
dates in various provinces and in Bengal province, it was taken on two
different dates . The census was not conducted in the then provinces of
Punjab, Hyderabad and Oudh. Of the princely states, Census was held
only in Mysore. The reference dates for various counts are given below:

North –Western provinces 18-1-1872
Bombay 21-2-1872
Central Provinces 25-1-1872
British Burma 14-11-1871
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Mysore and Coorg 14-11-1871
Madras 15-11-1871

2.8 In the case of Madras, in Tanjore district and Palaghat town, the
census was postponed by a week due to local festivals. In Bengal, the
dates varied from district to district.
2.9 The 1881 census was not taken in Kashmir. In the princely states,
except Haryana, Baroda and Mysore, information on sex wise number of
population was obtained. But data on age, civil conditions, caste and
occupation was not obtained.

2.10 In 1961 census, the North East Frontier province was covered but a
simplified schedule was used.

Defined Periodicity

2.11 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 to appraise the past, accurately describe the present
and estimate the future.

2.12 Starting from 1891, in India, Population Census has been taken
every ten years, usually with 1st March as reference point of time. The one
exception was 1971 census which was taken with 1st April 1971 as
reference point. Also in a few pockets, where census is conducted non-
synchronously, the dates of enumeration are not exactly ten years.

Individual Units:

2.13 Census data must be collected separately for each individual so
that detailed classifications may be provided in all the required
combinations. A procedure of "group enumeration" is not a census in the
strict sense of the term because the recording of aggregated or
summarized information on the characteristics of a group of persons
usually precludes the cross-tabulation of data on several characteristics.
Even though a well-designed "group enumeration" can produce cross-
classifications of certain individual characteristics, such as sex and age,
the possibilities in this respect are so limited that the procedure is not
recommended for general use, particularly since it tends to result in under-
enumeration of the population.

2.14 Individual enumeration does not preclude the use of sampling
techniques for obtaining data on specified characteristics, provided that
the sample design is consistent with the size of the areas for which the
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