Collecting in the census information on emigration

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Collecting in the census information on emigration

• Angela Me, Chief Social and Demographic
  Statistics Section
• Based on the work of Olga Chudinovskikh and
  Enrico Bisogno

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Emigration

• Can we measure emigration using the population
  census?

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Emigration

• Not yet sure about the answer, but some countries
  did attempt to estimate emigration using the
  population census
• Lets see what has been achieved and what we can
  learn..

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Emigration

• What are the questions
• we are trying to answer?

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Emigration

• How many nationals/residents/aficionadoare
  living abroad?
• What are the main countries of destination
• How long have been emigrants absent from the
  country of origin?
• What are the main reasons for moving abroad?
• What is the social-demographic profile of the
  emigrants?
• Do the emigrants intend to return back?
• Do the emigrants have economic ties with the
  original household?

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Emigration some countries tried.
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Emigration a close look to four countries who
was counted?
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Georgia census questionnaire for emigrants

• Who should be included
• Household members registered (???) before, if
  absent
• Other adult member of the household who is absent
• Instructions
• In case all the members of the household are
  abroad, information on these persons should be
  obtained through the assistance of relatives,
  neighbours, administrative authorities
• Questions asked
• Demographic-social characteristics Relationship
  to reference person, Sex, Date of birth, Place of
  birth, education, nationality, )
• Date of emigration
• Country of emigration and currently living
• Reason of emigration
• Support the family supports the emigrant or the
  emigrant supports the family?
• Intention to return

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Moldova questions in the census questionnaire

• Who should be included
• Household persons of people who are absent at the
  time of the census
• Instructions
• No special instructions?
• Questions asked in the individual questionnaire)
  
• At 1200 a.m. of census day the person was
• Temporarily absent, and left on _______
• In other locality of the country
• Abroad (please indicate the country
  ________________)
• Reason
• For work
• For study
• Other reason
• Absence duration
• Less than one year
• More than one year (please indicate the year when
  left ________________)

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Poland questions in the census questionnaire

• Who should be included
• Household persons of people who are absent at the
  time of the census
• Questions asked in the individual questionnaire)
  
• Do you live here permanently and were you present
  or absent on census reference day or do you stay
  here temporarily?
• Live permanently present
• Live permanently absent stay in other place in
  Poland
• Live permanently absent stay abroad
• Stay temporarily arrived from other place in
  Poland
• Stay temporarily arrived from abroad
• What is the real duration of your absence or
  staying?
• Up to 2 months
• Between 2 and 6 months
• Between 6 and 12 months
• 12 months and more
• What is the reason of your absence or staying?
• Education
• Work
• Family reasons

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Tunisia census questionnaire for emigrants

• Who should be included
• Emigrants belonging to the restricted (nucleus)
  family (spouse and unmarried children)
• Questions asked
• Demographic-social characteristics country of
  birth, country of citizenship, )
• Country of residence 5 years before the census
• Country of stay five years before the census
• Reason to move

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Use of the census to estimate emigration

• How can we assess if these modules /questions
  have been successful to count emigrants?
• We compared data obtained from the census with
  data collected in the receiving countries

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Poland
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Moldova Age composition of emigrants from
Moldova (all destinations, Census of Moldova
data), and citizens of Moldova-residents of the
Russian Federation (Russian Federation census
data), both sexes
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Moldova Cohorts of emigrants from Moldova in
Italy (Moldavian data) by period of absence and
citizens of Moldova residing in Italy (Italian
data), both sexes, persons
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Tunisia
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Tunisia
Note data from Italy undercover minors
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Tunisia looking a bit deeper..
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Tunisia
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Lessons learnt

• The quality of the census matters
• The collection of data worked well for emigrants
  that
• Are still included in an administrative process
  (registration in Poland)
• Are more likely to keep close ties with the
  country (Poland worked better for people in Italy
  and Germany than for people in the US or Canada)
• Are members of the family nucleus that is left
  behind (Tunisian male in France)

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Lessons learnt

• The shorter is the duration the better
• The more confined is the group of emigrants to
  count, the better (ex members of family nucleus)
• The modules/questions do not seem to work well to
  count a broad group of emigrants

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The first questions to ask are

• What is the population group of emigrants that we
  WOULD LIKE to count in a census?
• What do we mean by emigrants?
• What population group of emigrants CAN we
  accurately count in a census?
• Are the emigrants that we CAN count of interest
  for policy making?

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For the future

• We are still working on this..

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Other emigration modules used by countries in the
past in the census
Is there any member of the household who is
living abroad? How many persons live abroad?
Is someone from your household living abroad at
the time of the census? If so, where is he/she
living? Are the emigrant, and any other person
living with him abroad, staying there permanently
or temporarily?
Is there any member of the household who went to
live abroad during the last 10 years? If yes,
state the age, gender, the country of destination
and the year when he/she emigrated
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Emigration module proposed for MEDSTAT countries

• Has any member of the household emigrated during
  the past x years? If yes go to 4
• Has any former member of the household, (I.e. any
  person who, at the time of the census, was not
  living any more in the same dwelling of the
  household being enumerated) emigrated during the
  past x years?
• Did this person constitute by himself or formed
  part of another household that emigrated entirely
  during the past x years?
• Provide the following information in respect of
  the emigrated person(s)
• Name, age, sex, country of destination, year of
  departure

Source Estimating emigration through an
emigration module in the census, Reno Camilleri,
MEDSTAT