Content
About the statistics
Definitions
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Name and topic
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Name: Population and Housing Census, employment and education (discontinued)
Topic: Population
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Responsible division
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Division for Population Statistics
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Definitions of the main concepts and variables
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Units
Resident person. The census comprises all persons that according to the population register were residents in Norway on 19 November 2011. The Population Registration Act of 16 January 1970 (with later amendments) and its provisions, define persons that are considered resident in Norway and where their address is to be. The total number of persons resident in a region is the total population.
Couple . Two persons are considered a couple when they are registered as resident in the same household and are married to each other, are registered partners or cohabitants, i.e. living together without being married or having a registered partnership. To be classified as a cohabiting couple in the statistics, the persons must live in the same dwelling and in addition be of opposite sex and either have children in common, have been classified as cohabitants in the 2001 census or have been classified as a cohabitant couple in the system for data processing, control and revision described in 3.5. The data quality is not good enough to identify same sex cohabitants, and statistics for this group is accordingly not published.
Divorced and separated couples registered as resident in the same dwelling are considered a couple when they fulfil at least one of the requirements above. Divorced couples are in those cases classified as cohabiting. Separated couples living together are classified as married couples in the household statistics, because they legally are still considered to be married.
Family . A family consists of persons resident in the same dwelling and being a couple and/or parent and child (regardless of the child's age). At most, a family may consist of two subsequent generations and one couple only. This means that persons that are married or cohabiting and/or are living with their own children, do not belong to their parents' family. When persons that have previously been married are living with their parents, this is regarded as two families. In Norwegian statistics single persons are also considered a family, meaning that all persons are part of a family. In international statistics persons living alone are not considered to be a family (family nucleus).
Household . A household consists of persons that according to the population register are resident in the same housing unit (private dwelling or institution). These households are known as dwelling households. The census statistics does not include information on housekeeping units, i.e. persons living in the same dwelling with joint board. A private household comprises persons resident in the same dwelling, where this dwelling is not an institution. An institutional household comprises persons who have board, lodging, care or nursing at an institution. Employees that are resident in an institution are always considered resident in a private household.
Dwelling . A dwelling is a housing unit with one or more rooms that has been built or rebuilt for the purpose of being used as a round-the-year dwelling for one or more persons. It must be possible to have access to the room (-s) without having to go through another dwelling. As dwellings are counted both conventional dwellings with at least one room and kitchen, and single rooms with separate entrance and access to water and toilet inside the living quarters.
Variables - demography and place of residence
Age . In the 2011 Census, persons are grouped according to age at census date (19 November). This definition complies with the EU regulation. In previous censuses, persons were grouped according to age at the end of the year (31 December). This variable is also produced in the 2011 census, but it is not used for publishing statistics.
Residential address . In the 2011 census, this is the address where the individual person was registered as resident on 19 November 2011. The main rule in population registration is that a person is to be registered as resident at the address where the person spends the majority of his or her daily night-rest. However there are some exceptions, the most important being that unmarried students may choose whether they want to be registered at their parents’ address or at the address at their place of study. Moreover, married persons who are de facto living in a home for the elderly shall as a main rule be registered with their spouse if he/she is living in a private household. Married persons and persons with their own children in the same household are to be registered as living with their spouse and/or children even though they might be e.g. weekly commuters. Persons that according to the population register have no fixed abode are counted in the municipality where they previously resided. In tables by basic statistical unit and statistical tract, these persons are classified as unknown. The same applies in classifications by densely/sparsely populated area.
In the 2011 census persons that according to the Population register of Svalbard are residing in Longyearbyen or Ny-Ålesund, are counted as residents there. The address in Svalbard then replaces the address in the Central population register in the census file.
Family and household variables
Cohabitation arrangements . Persons are classified as living in a married couple, a cohabiting couple or not in a couple. Couples are classified as being married or cohabiting.
Number of children in the family comprises all persons below 18 years who are registered as residents with the family of at least one of their parents. Persons who are married or cohabiting and/or have their own children do not belong to their parents’ family. Biological children, adopted children and stepchildren are included, but not foster children. Number of children in the household is the aggregated number of children in all families belonging to the household.
Type of household . The main division is between private households and other households. Private households are classified according to the Standard classification of households 2006, that is according to the number of families in the household (one family or two-or-more families) and as households with or without children. As the definition of family in Norwegian statistics is somewhat different from the definition used in international statistics, the classification by type of household is not identical. However, statistics according to the international standard will also be produced from the Norwegian census.
Size of household is the number of persons resident in the household at census time. Only person registered on the residential address are counted.
Labour market variables
Current activity status . The classification is based on labour force participation and relates to the situation in census week (14 – 20 November 2011). Persons below 15 years of age is not included.
Employed persons are defined as below. Persons not employed during census week and registered as totally unemployed are classified as unemployed persons.
Persons not in the labour force are classified as pensioners and capital income recipients if they in the census year received
- pensions from the national insurance benefits of one of the following types: Old age pension, disability pension, widow/widowers pension, contractual pension (early retirement) or supplementary support (for elderly immigrants) or
- pensions from other sources (equal to more than twice the basic amount in the national insurance benefit scheme) or
- more than 20 000 NOK in capital income
Persons not in the labour force and not classified as pensioners, are classified as students if they were attending educational activities on 1 October. Apprentices, persons studying abroad and persons participating in job training schemes are also included. For persons 15 years and below there is normally no individual information on education available. However, persons aged 15 years are classified as students unless they are registered as having finished lower secondary school.
Persons classified as not in the labour force, as pensioners or as students belongs to the group others (also including home makers).
Employed persons are defined as in the register-based employment statistics, that is persons who performed work for pay or profit for at least one hour in the census week, or who were temporarily absent from work because of illness, holidays etc. Conscripts are classified as employed persons. Persons engaged by government measures to promote employment are also included if they receive wages. Employment is defined according to the ILO recommendations.
The method used is calibrated in such a way that the total number of employed persons 15-74 years is the same as in the labour force survey. Adapting to the EU regulation, even persons 75 years and older are classified by employment in the 2011 census statistics.
For employed persons with more than one job in census week, one is selected as the main job. Information on place of work (establishment), occupation, working hours and status in employment refers to the main job.
Status in employment . The variable distinguishes between salaried employees and self employed. Self employed are classified as with employees (employers) or without employees (own-account workers). Contributing family workers can not be identified in register-based statistics.
Weekly working hours . For salaried employees, this refers to the settled weekly working hours, that is, the number of working hours as stated in the employment contract. For 90 per cent of all employees, this information is retrieved form the Register of Employees. For persons classified as employees by information from the Register of Wages Sums only, working hours are estimated from the total amount of wages as salaries. Working hours for self employed are estimated from entrepreneurial income and information from the labour force survey.
Occupation is classified in accordance with Norwegian Standard Classification of Occupations which is based on ISCO 08. For employees in the Register of Employees, occupation is reported to the register by their employers. For other employed persons, occupation is estimated by using statistical methods and different supplementary data sources. For more information, see About the statistics for register-based employment statistics . In the 2011 census Armed forces occupations are reported together with Technicians and associate professionals.
Industry is classified in accordance with the revised Standard Industrial Classification 2007 which is based on the EU-standard of NACE Rev. 2. Industry for employed persons refers to the main activity of the establishment where they are working. For self employed who can not be linked to an establishment or enterprise, industry is estimated from education and information on self employment for other members of the family.
Number of persons working in the establishment includes all employed persons in census week, including those with a main job in another work place.
Place of work is the address of the establishment where the person is working. For most establishments there exists detailed geographical information (co-ordinates). However, information for small regions is less reliable and place of work is accordingly published basically on a municipality level. Statistics for urban districts is also published in the 2011 census, but these figures are less reliable than on municipality level. For self employed who can not be linked to an establishment or enterprise, municipality of work is estimated to be the same as municipality of residence. The same is true for seamen and employees in the armed forces (including conscripts). Employed persons registered with place of work Abroad, only includes employees in Norwegian embassies.
Commuting . Comparisons of municipality of residence and municipality of work for individuals may indicate the amount of travels to work or commuting. The registered place of residence is used. For some employed persons, the address of the establishment is not necessary the same as the location of place of work in census week. Furthermore, commuting does not always mean daily travel to/from work. Some persons are weekly commuters, others may be part-time employees and some are working wholly or partly at home.
In-commuters to a municipality refer to persons who have their place of work in the municipality, but are resident in another municipality. Out-commuters refer to persons living in the municipality, but with their place of work in another municipality.
Education variables
Highest completed education is reported for all resident persons 16 years and above. In addition there exists information on persons aged 15 years who have completed compulsory education (lower secondary level) or have started in upper secondary school. Information on educations refers to 1 October 2011.
Type of educational is classified according to the Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS2000), which classifies educational programmes by level and field of study. Level of education is grouped as follows: primary and lower secondary level, upper secondary school level, tertiary level - undergraduate and tertiary level – postgraduate. For more information on this classification, see About the statistics for education statistics . Field of study describes the academic contents of the educational activities on the least detailed level of classification.
Student/pupil. The variable shows what persons are in an educational activity on 1 October 2011 and includes all students/pupils who have completed compulsory school. Education abroad is not included. The group of pupils includes all persons attending upper secondary education, tertiary vocational education, folk high schools and employment training. Apprentices are not regarded as pupils in census tables. As students are classified all persons in tertiary level education , that is in colleges and universities and scientific colleges.
Type of school . In classifying type of school, the grouping of educational institutions in based on Standard Industrial Classification 2007 is used. The group Upper secondary education also includes participants in employment training.
Location of school is the municipality/county where the school, college or university is located.
Geographical variables
County . The region 21 Svalbard is included in tables by counties even though this region is not a county in the legal sense. In classifications by place of work, the regions 21-22 Svalbard and Jan Mayen, 23 The Continental Shelf and 25 Abroad are included.
Municipality . The municipality distribution as at 1 January 2012 is used. Per 1 January 2012 the municipalities 1723 Mosvik and 1729 Inderøy were merged to 1756 Inderøy. The region 2111_2112 Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund are included in tables by municipality even though this region is not a municipality in the legal sense. In classifications by place of work, the regions 2111-2211 Svalbard and Jan Mayen, 2399 The Continental Shelf and 2599 Abroad are included.
Administrative information
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Regional level
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Most of the census statistics are disseminated on municipality level and on urban districts level for the cities of Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger. Selected statistics will also be disseminated for basic statistical units and statistical tracts.
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Frequency and timeliness
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Population and housing censuses are conducted every tenth year. In 2011 census day was 19 November. Dates for releases, see Advance release calendar.
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International reporting
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Reporting to Eurostat and UN
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Microdata
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Census micro data without personal identification will be stored in Statistics Norway. Micro data with personal identification will be stored in The National Archives of Norway and will be made available for public use 100 years after the census.
Background
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Background and purpose
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Background and purpose
Statistics Norway conducted a register-based population and housing census on 19 November 2011. The purpose of this nationwide census is to describe how people are living in Norway, and to provide information on population structure and living conditions. Another important goal is to produce statistics for international comparisons.
Population and housing censuses have a long history in Norway. The first census was conducted in 1769 and the 2011 census is the 22nd.
In all previous censuses, questionnaires have been used to collect information; from 1980 on, a combination of data from questionnaires and registers have been used. In the 2011 census, all data are for the first time collected from administrative and statistical registers, and there is no longer necessary to use questionnaires in the census data collection. However, data from the Survey of education taken abroad 2012 is used in the 2011 census. More information, see About the statistics for Education statistics .
More information in the census information page .
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Users and applications
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Census statistics has a wide range of users: Researchers, planners on national and local level, politicians, media and private individuals. The statistics is also used for international comparisons.
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Coherence with other statistics
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Total population
The 2011 census population on Svalbard only comprises persons registered as residents in Norway at census time. Compared to the annual population statistics on Svalbard, that comprises all residents in the Norwegian settlement and also a population count for the Russian and Polish settlements, the census will give a lower population figure.
The points made in Comparability over time and space also apply when comparing the 2011 census to the annual population statistics.
Households
The data used in the 2011 census is almost the same as for the annual household statistics, but some adjustments have been made. Approximately 13 000 persons who in the annual statistics are counted as members of private households, are in the census classified with “household status unknown”. In the 2011 census 1.1 per cent of the population is classified as not living in a private household, as compared to 0.8 per cent in the household statistics per 1 January 2011. For private households, the portion of couples without children increases from 21.2 to 21.4 per cent, while the portion of one-person households decreases from 39.7 to 39.6 per cent. For other types of households the changes are even smaller. Except for these differences, the comparability with the annual household statistics is good. The data used in the household statistics for 2012 are adjusted in the same way as in the 2011 census.
For comparison with Income statistics for households, see About the statistics for population and housing census, households
Employment and unemployment
Employment figures are comparable with the annual, register-based employment statistics for the age group 15-74 years. In addition the 2011 census gives information on employment for persons 75 years and older. Due to harmonization between data on employment and unemployment, the figures for unemployment in the 2011 census are lower than in the statistics on registered unemployment.
Employed students and pupils
The percentage of students in employment in the 2011 census is approximately 9 percentage point higher than in the sample survey “Living conditions among students 2010”. In the census all persons attending educational activities are considered pupils and students. In the living condition survey a certain level of study progression is required. Part time students and persons not active as students for a period, are most likely employed, meaning that the employment percentage will be higher in the census than in the survey of living conditions.
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Legal authority
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Statistics Act, §§2-1, 3-2
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EEA reference
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Regulation (EC) No 0763/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Production
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Population
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Population
The Population and housing census 2011 comprises all persons, including foreign citizens, who were registered as residents in Norway according to the Central Population Register on 19 November 2011, census day.
The census comprises all private households and institutional households where at least one person was registered as resident on census day.
The census comprises all conventional dwellings according to the principles for registration of dwellings in the Cadastre (register on ground properties, buildings, dwellings and addresses managed by the Norwegian mapping authorities).
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Data sources and sampling
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All data in the 2011 census are retrieved from administrative and statistical registers. These data are mainly the same as those used in other register-based statistics. Statistics Norway has built up data systems, referred to as statistical registers, in several statistical areas (sectors). These are again based upon one or more administrative data systems that are either administrative registers held by other public authorities or administrative data collected by Statistics Norway.
The 2011 population and housing census is a full count.
Population data
The population statistics system at Statistics Norway (BeReg) is the most central register for information on persons, families and households in the census. The main source of data is the Central Population Register (CPR). More information in About the statistics for Population statistics .
Information on residents in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund is collected from the Population register of Svalbard.
Data on households
In the population statistics system at Statistics Norway (BeReg) persons are grouped into families through allocation of family numbers. Families in the administrative population register comprise married couples with or without children, lone parents with children and persons living alone. In order to produce figures for cohabiting couples and two or more-family households, and hereby all types of families and households, Statistics Norway processes information from the population register. In addition some information from The Cadastre and the business register are used to identify persons living in institutions.
Labour market data
Labour market data is based on several registers. The most important ones are The Register of Employers and Employees, The Register of End of the Year Certificates (Register of Wage Sums), The Register for Personal Tax Payers, The Register of Unemployed and The Central Co-ordinating Register for Legal Entities (business register).
The Register of Employers and Employees is the main source for data on salaried employees, but The Register of Wage Sums gives additional information. These are both job-registers. The tax register is the main source of data on self-employed persons. The Register of Unemployed holds data on unemployed persons and persons in labour market measures. The business register holds information on the working places (establishments). Several registers give additional information: register of conscripts, registers of employees in central and local government, register of sick leave etc.
Statistics Norway has established a system to jointly utilise the different labour market registers. The systems comprise modules for consistency management between various data sources, selection of the most important job and classification by employment
Data on education
Data is retrieved from the National Education Database (NUDB), a statistical registers managed by Statistics Norway. The register is based on information from individual educational institutions and state and county-municipal data systems. The register contains information on highest completed education as well as ongoing education (students and pupils).
In the autumn 2011 Statistics Norway conducted a survey to supplement the register with information on education completed in other counties by immigrants. Similar surveys were conducted in advance of the censuses in 1990 and 2001. For more information, see About the statistics for education statistics .
Data on pensions and capital income
Data on pensions from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation is retrieved from a statistical database in Statistics Norway (FD-Trygd). Data on other pensions is retrieved from the Register of Wage Sums. Data on capital income is retrieved from The Register for Personal Tax Payers.
Geographical information
Information on addresses of residents, dwellings, work places and schools/educational institutions is retrieved from the address section of the Cadastre. This is information on the basic statistical unit, municipality, etc., to which the address
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Collection of data, editing and estimations
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The 2011 census has no separate data collection, see Data sources and sampling.
Census statistics are produced directly from the individual register data.
Register data used in statistics are verified and edited to a greater or lesser degree. Variables that are not found in any of the administrative sources are created by combining data from various register sources. Editing is mainly carried out in production of the various subject matter statistics.
Households
Household figures in the 2011 census are produced in the same way as in the annual household statistics. The procedure used is described in About the statistics for household statistics . The basic principle is that all persons with the same residential address in the population register belong to the same household. However, a household count following this principle gives too few and too large households. Therefore, Statistics Norway has developed a method where information from the census forms in 2001 is used to modify the data from the population register. When members of the original household are not relatives, are not classified as cohabitants and did not move to the dwelling on the same day, households are in some cases divided.
Current activity status
Information on employment and unemployment is retrieved from Statistics Norway’s system for register-based employment statistics. A comprehensive system for joint utilization of several register has been established for classification by employment. For more information, see About the statistics for register-based employment statistics .
Information on education are being edited in the National Education Database, see About the statistics for education statistics .
The variable Current activity status is produced as a part of the population and housing census. Data on employment, unemployment, pensions and ongoing education is combined and a consistent classification is established.
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Confidentiality
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Small area statistics is an important part of censuses, but the statistics shall not provide information that can be traced back to individual persons. In respect of the protection of privacy, many of the tables have been adjusted in order that combinations of variable figures that only occur once or twice should not be identifiable in the tables. In most of the table matrixes at the most detailed level in every region (county, municipality, urban district, basic statistical unit), all figures 1 and 2 are replaced by 0 or 3 (table matrixes affected by this will be marked with foot notes). The figures 0 and 3 also occur naturally, and it should not be possible to see the difference between the two types of 0 and 3. The replacements are done such that there will be only minor deviations at a higher level of aggregation. These deviations will generally be less than errors in the statistics, and will not reduce the utilitarian value of the statistics. When the same table is produced on the basis of two different matrixes, minor deviations may also occur between the tables.
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Comparability over time and space
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The basis for comparisons is mainly the 2001 census.
Residents in Svalbard
In the 2011 census, persons actually living on the islands of Svalbard are counted there, but in previous censuses they were counted at their place of registered residence. Compared to previous censuses, the 2011 census therefore shows a somewhat smaller population in municipalities where a substantial number of registered residents actually live in Svalbard.
Age
Adapting to the EU regulation, the 2011 census uses age at census date (19 November). In previous censuses, age at the end of the years has been used. In particular, the age group below one year will be larger when using age at census time, since all persons born in the last 12 months are included. When using age at end of the year, only persons born in 2011 will belong to this age group. In the 2011 census the difference is approximately 6 500 persons for this age group.
Current activity status
In the 2001 census, only persons 16-74 years were classified by current activity status. In the 2011 census, information is available for all persons 15 years and older.
In the 2011 census only recipients of national insurance benefits were classified as pensioners. In the 2011 census also persons receiving pensions from other sources are included. Furthermore, in order to adapt to the EU-regulation, also recipients of capital income have been included in this group. As a result, the number of pensioners has increased by approximately 2.5 per cent.
Employment
There have been some changes in the production of register-based employment data from 2001 to 2011, see About the statistics for register-based employment statistics . The most important are that the minimum age to be counted as employed has been lowered from 16 to 15 years, in accordance with international recommendations. Also, the definition of age was changed from age at the end of the year to age at the end of the reference week. As a result, employment has increased by 10 000 persons.
In the 2011 census employment is reported for all persons 15 years and older, as compared to 16-74 years in 2001 census. However, most tables on employment comprise only the age group 15-74 years.
Industry
In the 2011 census the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification is used (based on NACE, Rev 2). In the 2001 census the 1994 Standard Industrial Classification (based on NACE, Rev 1) was used.
Type of school
Some major educational institutions have changed from Colleges to Universities and scientific colleges in the period. However, figures for tertiary education in total are comparable.
Employment among students and pupils
The 2011 census shows a lower percentage of students and pupils in employment than the 2001 census. The decrease is larger for students than for pupils, larger for men than for women and largest for the age group 19-24 years. The survey Living conditions among students shows an increase in employment for students in the same period. When comparing, one must take into consideration that the populations are somewhat different, see Coherence with other statistics. The labour force survey shows the same development as the survey of living conditions. Even if the input data and the methods used in the two censuses are very similar, the development according to the census statistics is different from the two other surveys. One reason could be that the portion of de facto not active students was smaller in 2011 than in 2001, see Sources of errors. It should also be taken into account that the general level of employment for the younger age groups is lower in 2011 than in 2001.
Households
In the 2001 census household data was mainly based on information from census forms, but in the 2011 census household data are based on registers only. When the annual, register-based household statistics was established in 2005, comparability with the 2001 census was assessed to be satisfactory, and data from the 2001 census is also used in producing the register-based household statistics. The 2011 census is based on the same data as the annual statistics: In establishing a method for register-based household statistics, comparability with previous censuses was emphasized. However, in assessing changes from the pervious census, this difference in data collection method should be taken into account.
Accuracy and reliability
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Sources of error and uncertainty
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The 2011 census uses the same register-based data as the different subject matter statistics published by Statistics Norway. For descriptions of measurement and processing errors, see About the statistics for the relevant subject matter statistics.
Coverage for the total population
According to the EU regulation, the population is defined as all persons who have been living in the country for 12 months ore more at census time, or if not meeting this criterion, have the intention to stay for at least 12 months. Compared to this definition, a register-based census will have coverage errors.
A person legally living in Norway will indeed have self-interest to register as a resident person in the population register. For persons emigrating, de-registration will not be as important, meaning that some persons that no longer live in Norway most probably incorrectly are included in the census population. This results in over-coverage. On the other hand there will at any time be some persons staying in the country that are not included in the census population. This applies to all illegal immigrants, but also to asylum seekers that have not obtained a residence permit. This results in under-coverage.
Estimates of over- and under-coverage will be reported in 2013. However, compared to the total population size, coverage errors most certainly are of a very small magnitude.
Households
A correct distribution of households in the 2011 census is very much dependent on the existence of unique dwelling addresses in the population register. Dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings need to have a unique dwelling number in addition to the street address. In 2011 the coverage rate for unique addresses is satisfactory, more than 95 per cent. However, there is evidence that for some persons, the dwelling address is incorrect.
Another quality problem is delayed and missing notices of removal to the population register. In cases where a family in fact has moved from a dwelling (but without reporting the removal to the population register) and a new family has moved in, the register data will show two families living in the same household. This type of error also occurs when persons are moving abroad and especially if they are leaving the country temporarily only.
Furthermore, there may exist dwelling that are not properly registered in the Cadastre, especially in detached houses where a one-room flat may be missing. In such cases, the register data will show that persons are living in the same dwelling, even if they in facts have separate dwellings and belong to different households.
The method used for producing household statistics will correct for most errors of the types mentioned above, see About the statistics for household statistics . Furthermore, in establishing the data for the 2011 census, the populations have been somewhat adjusted. The number of private households has been reduced as approximately 13 000 persons have been classified in “household status unknown” (most of them formerly classified as living alone). The original population of dwellings has also been adjusted by adding 48 600 dwellings for statistical use, mainly in detached houses. This improves the quality of household data in the census. However, the errors mentioned introduce an element of uncertainty in the household statistics, especially in cases where persons not belonging to the same family are registered on the same address. It may then be difficult to judge if they should be classified as a two-or-more family household or as several separate households.
Households in Svalbard
Only persons registered as resident in Norway are included in the census, having an influence on the household distribution in cases where persons included in the census are living together with persons staying temporarily in the country (and hence are not registered as residents). For example, a resident person living with a spouse or a cohabitant not registered as a resident would be classified as living alone or as a lone parent. In most municipalities this error is of a very small magnitude. In the settlements on Svalbard, however, where such cases occur more frequently, this type of error must be taken into account.
Employment
For persons defined as employed based solely on information from the End of the Year Certificates Register (about 10 per cent of all employees), there is some uncertainty attached to whether the person actually was employed in the reference period. For this group it is also uncertain if the employment is linked to the correct establishment in the enterprise and hence is classified correctly by industry and place of work.
The Register of Personal Tax Payers is used to identify self-employed persons. Due to long production time, information about entrepreneurial activities from the previous year is used. Thus, a person may wrongly be defined as employed even if the activity ended the previous year. For more information, see About the statistics for register-based employment statistics .
Commuting
The quality of commuting figures is depending both on information on place of residence and place of work. Registered address is used for place of residence, meaning that students actually living away from home are often registered at their parents’ home address. If they have a job at their place of study, they will be classified as commuters. Consequently, for students the percentage commuting will be too high, especially for the youngest age groups.
The location of place of work is the address of the establishment, which is not always the same as individual’s actual place of work in census week. Employed persons without a permanent place of work, are registered with address of the workplace to which they belong for administrative purposes. This particularly applies to persons working in construction and transportation industry. Consequently, commuting towards larger cities and regional centres may be slightly overestimation.
For persons for whom information of place of work is lacking in the registers, the municipality of residence is used for municipality of place of work. This mainly applies to personal in the armed forces (including conscripts), seamen and some self employed persons. For these groups commuting may be underestimated.
Combination of employment and education
In the 2011 census information is given on students and pupils that are also in employment. Especially for students the portion is high compared to other surveys. There may be several reasons for this.
All persons registered at a college or university is considered as students. Some of these persons are most probably not active students. In other cases the job is an integrated part of the education activity. This applies for instance for apprentices, and this group is therefore not included in the population of students and pupils in these statistics. However, it also applies to other groups, for instance persons in state colleges. Thus the population of students and pupils do not only comprise those who have education as their main activity, but also persons taking a supplementary education related to their employment.
Dating of some jobs is uncertain, see Employment above. This particularly applies to persons in temporary employment and part time workers, and students and pupils often have these types of jobs. There is therefore a certain degree of uncertainty involved as regards to the time of the year when students and pupils are actually working. For instance, a possible error is that students with summer jobs only, are classified as employed in census week in November.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION