Sample characteristics: Switzerland
| Census/survey characteristics | |
| Type | Census |
| Title | Swiss Federal Population Census of 1970 |
| Statistical agency | Federal Statistical Office |
| Population universe | All persons residing in Switzerland, except foreign diplomats stationed in Switzerland and their families. |
| De jure or de facto | De facto |
| Census/survey day | December 1, 1970 |
| Field work period | November 25-28, 1970 |
| Questionnaire | There are three forms: (i) person questionnaire, (ii) dwelling [household] questionnaire, and (iii) building questionnaire. |
| Type of fieldwork | Direct and self-enumeration |
| Microdata sample characteristics | |
| Sample design | Systematic sample of every 20th household, drawn by the Federal Statistical Office |
| Sample fraction | 0.05 |
| Sample size (person records) | 312538 |
| Sample weights | Self-weighting. Expansion factor = 20. |
| Units identified in microdata | |
| Dwellings | No |
| Vacant units | Yes |
| Households | Yes |
| Collective dwellings | Yes |
| Smallest geography | Canton |
| Unit definitions | |
| Dwellings | Residential buildings including single family home, mutiple family home, farm, and apartment building; other buildings (e.g. factory or commercial buildings) if they contain at least one unit for residential purposes; other accommodations (e.g., barracks, mountain farms, wagons) if they are occupied on the census day. |
| Households | Family members living together and all other persons living with them (e.g. maids, apprentices, lodgers, paying guests, permanent guests, nurses); lodgers or sub-tenants living with the host household; single persons or persons not related to each other living in their own closed dwelling or single room which they have rented from the landlord and is separated from his dwelling. |
| Collective dwellings | Collective households are groups of persons who reside in hotels, boarding houses, care facilities, boarding schools, hospitals, company dormitories, etc. |
| Census/survey characteristics | |
| Type | Census |
| Title | Swiss Federal Population Census of 1980 |
| Statistical agency | Federal Statistical Office |
| Population universe | All persons residing in Switzerland, except foreign diplomats stationed in Switzerland and their families. |
| De jure or de facto | De facto |
| Census/survey day | December 2, 1980 |
| Field work period | November 25 - December 9, 1980 |
| Questionnaire | There are three sets of questionnaires: (i) person questionnaire, (ii) household questionnaire, and (iii) building questionnaire |
| Type of fieldwork | Direct and self-enumeration |
| Microdata sample characteristics | |
| Sample design | Systematic sample of every 20th household, drawn by the Federal Statistical Office |
| Sample fraction | 0.05 |
| Sample size (person records) | 317803 |
| Sample weights | Self-weighting. Expansion factor = 20. |
| Units identified in microdata | |
| Dwellings | No |
| Vacant units | Yes |
| Households | Yes |
| Collective dwellings | Yes |
| Smallest geography | Canton |
| Unit definitions | |
| Dwellings | Residential building including single family home, mutiple family home, farm, and apartment building; other buildings (e.g. factory or commercial buildings) if they contain at least one unit for residential purposes; other accommodations (e.g., barracks, mountain farms, wagons) if they are occupied on the census day. |
| Households | Members of a family and all other persons living with them (e.g. maids, apprentices, boarders, permanent guest, care staff); a person living alone or persons not related to each other living in their own closed dwelling; subtenants of boarder taking one meal daily with the landlord; groups of persons living together. |
| Collective dwellings | Collective households are groups of persons who live in hotels, boarding homes, care homes, boarding schools, hospitals, company dormitories. Other collective households include staff members and company workers who live in a common accommodation but do not keep house and are neither connected to another household. |
| Census/survey characteristics | |
| Type | Census |
| Title | Federal Population Census 1990 |
| Statistical agency | Federal Statistical Office |
| Population universe | All persons residing in Switzerland, except foreign diplomats stationed in Switzerland and their families. |
| De jure or de facto | De facto |
| Census/survey day | 1990-12-04 00:00:00 |
| Field work period | November 23 - 31 December, 1990 |
| Questionnaire | There are three sets of questionnaires: (i) person questionnaire, (ii) household questionnaire, and (iii) building questionnaire |
| Type of fieldwork | Direct and self-enumeration |
| Microdata sample characteristics | |
| Sample design | Systematic sample of every 20th household, drawn by the Federal Statistical Office |
| Sample fraction | 0.05 |
| Sample size (person records) | 342797 |
| Sample weights | Self-weighting. Expansion factor = 20. |
| Units identified in microdata | |
| Dwellings | No |
| Vacant units | Yes |
| Households | Yes |
| Collective dwellings | Yes |
| Smallest geography | Canton |
| Unit definitions | |
| Dwellings | Buildings isolated or separated by a wall that, on the day of the census, is inhabited or habitable. Buildings that are uninhabited on the day of the census are recorded only if equipped for permanent residence and are accessible throughout the year. For duplexes, either in groups or in series, each building separated from the others by a wall, going from the cellar to the roof, is considered an independent building. |
| Households | Family members living together and all other persons living with them (e.g., mainds, apprentices, lodgers, permanent guests, nurses, etc.); persons living in the same dewlling without specific family ties; persons living alone in a dwelling. |
| Collective dwellings | Collective households are groups of persons who reside in hotels, boarding homes, care facilities, hospitals, company dormitories, etc. |
| Census/survey characteristics | |
| Type | Census |
| Title | Federal Population Census 2000 |
| Statistical agency | Federal Statistical Office |
| Population universe | All persons residing in Switzerland, except foreign diplomats stationed in Switzerland and their families. |
| De jure or de facto | De facto |
| Census/survey day | December 5, 2000 |
| Questionnaire | There are three sets of questionnaires: (i) person questionnaire, (ii) household questionnaire, and (iii) building questionnaire |
| Type of fieldwork | Direct and self-enumeration |
| Microdata sample characteristics | |
| Sample design | Systematic sample of every 20th household, drawn by the Federal Statistical Office |
| Sample fraction | 0.05 |
| Sample size (person records) | 364086 |
| Sample weights | Self-weighting. Expansion factor = 20. |
| Units identified in microdata | |
| Dwellings | No |
| Vacant units | Yes |
| Households | Yes |
| Collective dwellings | Yes |
| Smallest geography | Canton |
| Unit definitions | |
| Dwellings | Buildings that are free standing or separated by a fire wall from other buildings, and they are occupied or can be occupied on the census day. In the case of row houses, duplexes and other grouped houses, each building part is considered a building if a fire wall exists. |
| Households | All persons living in the same dwelling (apartment or single family house); persons belonging to one family plus all other persons living in the same dwelling (such as maids, other domestic personnel, care children, sub-tenants, permanent guests, care givers); persons living alone in a closed dwelling; non–related persons keeping house together. |
| Collective dwellings | All households which are not private households are considered collective households. Such households are hotels, pensions, boarding schools, workers dormitories, long term care homes |
| Census/survey characteristics | |
| Type | Register-based Census |
| Title | Federal Population Census 2011 |
| Statistical agency | Federal Department of Home Affairs / Federal Statistical Office |
| Population universe | All persons living in private households who are aged 15 or over, except foreign diplomats stationed in Switzerland and their families. Includes all foreign national who are not in the process of seeking asylum who have held a residence or permanent residence permit for a minimum of 12 months or who have held a short-term residence permit for a total of at least 12 months. Persons in the process of seeking asylum who have resided in Switzerland for a total of at least 12 months. |
| De jure or de facto | De facto |
| Census/survey day | December 31, 2011 |
| Questionnaire | There are three sets of questionnaires: (i) personal questionnaire, (ii) household and dwelling questionnaire, and (iii) and questions about the dwelling |
| Type of fieldwork | Direct and self-enumeration |
| Microdata sample characteristics | |
| Sample design | 3.5% population sample, drawn by the Federal Statistical Office (excludes persons under 15 years old). Sample method unknown. |
| Sample fraction | 0.035 |
| Sample size (person records) | 238033 |
| Sample weights | Weights computed by census agency should be used for most types of analysis. |
| Units identified in microdata | |
| Dwellings | No |
| Vacant units | No |
| Households | No |
| Collective dwellings | No |
| Smallest geography | Canton |
| Unit definitions | |
| Dwellings | A dwelling is a statistical abstraction denoting housing accommodation appropriate for occupation by one household. |
| Households | The household is a socio-economic unit. It consists of individuals who live together. The aim of the core variable on household composition is to collect information about the size and composition of the private household to which the respondents belong, on the relationship between household members and the economic activity status of household members of working age. In addition, the household arrangements of an individual could be considered as an indirect measure of the social situation of the individual itself. |