Relevance
The Census of Population and
Housing is a nationwide exercise which is generally carried out approximately
every ten years. It is an official
measure of persons, households and dwellings in Malta and Gozo, taken at a
point in time. Official censuses in
Malta date back to 1842, with the 2011 Census being the 17th in the series. The next round of collection of census data
will be held in 2021. Such data
collection provides definitive statistics on the demographic and social
condition of residents and households, including information on housing and
amenities at a national, regional and local level. This information is compiled on the basis of a
harmonised methodology as stipulated by European Regulations (EC) No. 763/2008 and (EC) No. 1201/2009.
Methodological description
The 2011 Census questionnaire
ensured continuation with previous censuses that were carried out in Malta, and
conformed to the UNECE and Eurostat recommendations on concepts and definitions
for population censuses. The 2011 Census
was based on the traditional methodology, whereby paper questionnaires were
distributed among households, to be eventually collected by enumerators during
a period of four weeks. Malta was
divided into 1,021 Enumeration Areas (EAs), with each one consisting of a
number of streets, or parts thereof, in a particular locality. Each EA contained an average of 180-230
dwellings. Enumerators were provided
with a geographical map as a guide and a list of streets which fall under the
particular EA. Maps were useful to
identify boundaries of the enumerators’ assignment and to permit checks in
terms of coverage.
In a
follow-up exercise a form was mailed to all those households where it appeared
that someone had been left out after enumeration. The list included also any non-Maltese
nationals in possession of a local identity card. Results were benchmarked with administrative
registers in order to reduce as much as reasonably possible the extent of under
enumeration. From this exercise the
corresponding under-and over-enumeration were calculated and duly accounted
for. Administrative data sources were then used for verification
purposes and to cater for unit non-response.
Accuracy
and reliability of data
Wrong or
inconsistent data was double-checked at source by the enumerators, supervisors,
and district managers, as well as at a later stage with the corresponding
household members (if necessary). A
number of in-built validations were included in the data-entry program to check
the validity of keyed data by establishing acceptable values. Available administrative sources and survey
registers were used in order to improve the consistency of recorded data as
well as for benchmarking purposes.
Timeliness and punctuality of data
A number of publications related to
census data are available on the NSO’s website.
For the Census of Population and Housing 2005, a preliminary report was
published in April 2006 while final data for the population and dwellings was
published in August and October 2007 respectively. For the Census of Population and Housing
2011, a preliminary report was published in October 2012 while a final report
on population and dwellings was published in January 2014.
For the last census round, final
data in hypercubes was provided to Eurostat 27 months after the end of the
reference year.
A one-time news release entitled
‘Census of Population and Housing 2011: A focus on Surnames’ was published in
January 2013. This was published on the
NSO’s website on the on the pre-established date as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar.
Accessibility and clarity of data
Census publications and news
releases are available to external users on the NSO website. In addition, a metadata report for the 2011
census was submitted to Eurostat and made available on Eurostat’s website. A similar report was produced at a national
level and disseminated on the NSO’s metadata website.
Coherence and
comparability/consistency of data
Data is comparable between all Member
States through the use of harmonised concepts as established in the regulating
framework. In particular, the concept of
‘usual residence’ whereby enumerated persons had to live in the reporting
country for a continuous period of at least 12 months; or arrived during the 12
months before the reference date with the intention of staying there for at
least one year, was adopted by all member states.
Census data is comparable with demographic
data in view of intercensal revisions and the application of similar
principles. Comparison of data between different censuses
should be done with caution due to definitions underlying the total enumerated
population in a particular census. The
same holds when comparing data by region between different censuses, since the
boundaries of some of the local councils which identify the localities may have
changed over time.
Questionnaire | Metadata