Population census in Hong Kong , a collection of
demographic dataThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Hong Kong, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
, is conducted by Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong Government. The
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
was held every ten years and by-census is held between two census. The last census was in March 2001 and by-census was from 15 July to 1 August 2006.
The census is based on the
administrative districtsThe Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 administrative areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board...
in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
to find out the characteristics and trends in population.
Population census in Hong Kong , a collection of
demographic dataThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Hong Kong, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
, is conducted by Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong Government. The
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
was held every ten years and by-census is held between two census. The last census was in March 2001 and by-census was from 15 July to 1 August 2006.
Objective
The census is based on the
administrative districtsThe Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 administrative areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board...
in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
to find out the characteristics and trends in population. The census is conducted in large scale and wide ranges of data would be collected. Statistics collected would be a reference for Hong Kong Government to make policy, or for private organisation to research.
History
Since 1841, when
Hong Kong IslandHong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
was ceded to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, the government has conducted a census in all villages on the island. The modern census began in 1961, and by-census in 1966 and continues every 10 years.
Method
The census in 1961 and 1971 collected the details from every residents. From 1981, although counting of residents still is still be conducted and collection of basic information such as age and gender by
questionnaireA questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case...
survey, the very details of characteristics were taken from interviewing a large sample of households and inferred by statistical method. In 2001 census, the ratio of questionnaire to visit is 7 to 1.
By-census is similar to census but only use smaller percentage of households for visiting to deduced the characteristics. 10% of household would be sampled in 2006 by-census.
When census was conducted by questionnaire, a questionnaire was sent to each household and sent back to the department by the household. For interview, an
enumeratorEnumerator may refer to:*Iterator *a census taker, a person performing door-to-door around election time and to make the voter's list.*Enumerator polynomial...
would visit each sample household and fill detailed questionnaires for each household member.
March is selected to a census month to avoid extreme weather conditions like typhoons and major long holiday or summer vacation. In order to recruit sufficient enumerators from secondary schools, a census holiday is implemented during the census year. By-census is conducted in July. The main source of enumerators are from teachers and university students. In 2006 by-census, 5000 of enumerators are recruited with wages between HK$ 6528 to 11648.
Under the Census and Statistics Ordinance, specified persons are legally obliged to provide the information required by the 2001 Population Census. People who refuse to do so are liable to a fine of $500. Also, people wilfully providing untrue answers are liable to a fine of $5,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
The census counts each household member, even one might be an illegal immigrant. To ensure the accuracy of data and to encourage those interviewed to provide true answers, their information provided is strictly confidential and would be destroyed within one year.
Privacy
It is an offence for census officers to disclose data pertaining to individual persons or individual households to unauthorised persons. All field workers are required to follow designated procedures strictly, and well-trained on the data confidentiality issues. Completed questionnaires are processed and stored in a special area and any movement of document are recorded. The questionnaires are destroyed within one year. No information of individual persons or households can be deduced from the processed data.
Content
Two forms are filled out. One is called the short form while the other is called the long form
The Short Form
Questionnaires completed by households are named short forms. Questions include:
For household:
- set of question aims at enumerating the number of persons in the household.
For person:
- Relationship to head of household
- Sex
- Year and month of birth
- Whereabouts at the census moment
- Total amount of time spent in Hong Kong in the past six months
- Total amount of time to be spent in Hong Kong in the coming six months
- Usual accommodation in Hong Kong at present
Information filled by census officer, such as:
- Type of quarters
- Present status of quarters
- Occupancy of quarters
- Number of households in the quarters
- Type of household
The Long Form
The long form includes the following data items in addition to all of that in the short form:
Information on household and quarters:
- Household income
- Number of living/dining rooms
- Number of bedrooms
- Number of kitchens
- Number of bathrooms/toilets
- Number of other rooms
- Tenure of accommodation
- Rent
- Rates, Government rent and management fee
- Outstanding mortgage or loan period
- Mortgage payment or loan repayment
Information on household members:
Demographic and social characteristics:
- Marital status
- Nationality
- Ethnicity
- Usual language
- Ability to speak other languages/ dialects
Educational characteristics:
- School attendance
- Educational attainment
- highest level attended
- highest level completed
- Place of study
- Mode of transport to place of study
- Field of education
Geographical and internal migration characteristics:
- Place of birth
- Duration of residence in Hong Kong
- Place of residence 5 years ago
Economic characteristics:
- Economic activity status
- Industry
- Occupation
- Place of work
- Mode of transport to place of work
- Earnings from main employment
- Earnings from secondary employment
- Other cash income
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