Confidentiality

The information collected during this census are confidential per law number 99-014 from April 12th 2000, providing for the creation, organization, and functioning of the National Council for Statistics, stipulating in its article 23 that "physical and moral persons are required to answer the statistical questionnaires falling under article 4 with precision and within the specified timeline" and in its article 25 that "the information on individuals collected in the survey questionnaires falling under article 4, are covered by statistical confidentiality. The results may only be made public anonymously."

Chapter 5: Presentation and filling out the household questionnaire

The household questionnaire is the principal document in which information collected from the populations living in Benin is transcribed, following interviews conducted by the census agent in the households. It comprises a certain number of variables structured in the following 6 sections:

5.1 Some useful definitions

Department - This is the largest administrative division of the territory of Benin. The country has 12: Atacora, Atlantic, Alibori, Borgou, Donga, Collines [Hills in English], Couffo, Littoral [Coast in English], Mono, Oueme, Plateau, and Zou. The political and administrative authority is the Prefect.

Commune - This is the territorial unit immediately below the department. The country has 77. The townships of Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Parakou have a "special status" while the rest of the townships are "common law" townships. The administrative authority is the Mayor.

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Arrondissement - Each commune is divided into arrondissements. The country has 546. The administrative authority is the head of the arrondissement.

Village quarter [quartier] - A quarter is a subdivision of an urban arrondissement; it is administered by the head of quarter.

Village - A village is a subdivision of a rural arrondissement; it is administered by the Village Chief. A village can have one or several localities. In the case where the village is constituted by several localities, the most important of them is often the center of the village and it is often the case that the village carries its name.

Locality or hamlet - A locality is an inhabited site i.e. a group of habitations delimited in space, generally identified by a name recognized by the populations, and attached to a village. Isolated hamlets and habitations are assimilated to localities.

Lot/bloc - A lot/bloc is a subdivision of a quarter [quartier] in an urban zone. It is a lot if the quarter is subdivided and a bloc is not.

Census zone - A census zone [CZ] is an inhabited portion of the national territory under the responsibility of a census agent and that has between 600 to 800 inhabitants in rural areas and 1200 to 1500 inhabitants in an urban area. A census zone can have one or several lots/blocs/localities. A CZ cannot lap over two different villages/quarters.

Building - A building is a construction that is:

A building can be a house or an isolated case, a strip house [often rectangular and compartmentalized], or an apartment building [house with several floors]. Several buildings can be situated in a closed space or not. Moreover, a building may serve or not as living space for several households.

Concession - A concession can be made of grouped buildings, giving or not to a central courtyard, fenced or not.

Dwelling unit - A dwelling unit is a space or a group of spaces used by a household for housing purposes. These spaces can be found in one building, in one part of a building, or in several buildings situated close to each other. Dwelling units found in the same building housing an establishment, a hospital, a hotel, etc. must be considered separately and counted as dwelling units. For example, a house, separated or not, independent or not, within a hospital or an educational establishment, used to house the director and his family or the guardian and is family, must be considered as a dwelling unit. Similarly, independent apartments situated in the same building as a hospital or a school must be considered as dwelling units.

Ordinary household - It is a person/several persons, related or not, living in the same dwelling unit, [often] eating together, supporting each other in their essential needs, [generally] recognizing the authority of a sole person called the "head of household".

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Examples of ordinary households:

Collective household - This is a group of persons who, for extra-familial, notably professional reasons, health reasons, confessional reasons, reasons of deprivation of freedom, live together in a specialized establishment or institution such as a workers' camp, a military barrack, a boarding school, a hospital with hospitalization rooms, a convent, an orphanage, or a prison.

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Thus, persons belonging to one of the following categories are part of collective households:

There exists no "mixed household", i.e. an ordinary and a collective household at the same time.

Thus, for example, a prison manager, a hospital director, or a traditional healer living [with or without their family] on-site with their prisoners or their ill, constitute a separate ordinary household.

In this case, two [2] different questionnaires shall be given. The first shall be the ordinary-household questionnaire, in which the manager, hospital director, or healer, could eventually be the head of household. The second shall be the collective-household questionnaire in which he could eventually be the head of establishment.

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5.2. Filling out the household questionnaire

Section 1: Household's localization characteristics

Localization

Table 2: Instruction for filling out household's localization information

Example 1: Case of a non-zoned neighborhood: "Donaten" in the 1st arrondissement of Cotonou

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Example 2: Case of a zoned neighborhood: "Avotrou" [registered at the 2002 census] in the 1st arrondissement of Cotonou, [currently divided into 3 new neighborhoods by law number 2005-005 of February 15, 2013: Avotrou Aimonlofide, Avotrou Gbego, and Avotrou Houezekome]

For households belonging to Avotrou Houezekome, the section "Localization" of the questionnaire must be filled out as follows:

Localization
1. Department: Littoral
2. Commune: Cotonou
3. Arrondissement:1st arrondissement
4A. Village or City neighborhood: Avotrou
4B. New Village/Neighborhoo: Avotro Houezekome
5. Census Zone Number: ____

Due to new administrative entities being currently created, all household localization and identification information presented in table 2 are important. You must thus inquire about them all.

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Summary table

The summary table is used to summarize the count results of the population living in the household. It must not be filled out until the end of household count, i.e. when you are certain that all household members have been counted.

To fill it out, the census agent must make sure that:
[] All persons susceptible of begin registered in a an ordinary household, as "Present Resident", "Absent Resident", or "Visitor", have been registered;
[] All questionnaires variables have been properly inquired about, i.e. all related questions have been asked to the appropriate target individuals and the obtained answers registered in the questionnaire;
[] Household localization and identification have been correctly inquired about;
The numbering of the questionnaires used for registering the persons living in the household is well executed.

If all these pre-conditions are respected, the census agent may then proceed with counting the persons registered in the household in terms of their "residency situation" and their "sex", as follows:

Go over the persons counted in the household as "present residents" according to their sex, then write down the result of the count in the "summary table" of the first questionnaire;

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Go over the persons counted in the household as "absent residents" according to their sex, then write down the result of the count in the "summary table" of the first questionnaire;

Go over the persons counted in the household as "visitors" according to their sex, then write down the result of the count in the "summary table" of the first questionnaire;

Report the totals in the lines and columns of the "summary table" of the first questionnaire.

If you have used several household questionnaires to register information for one household, you must take into account all members of used papers.

Census agent seal
Census agent- Write legibly in the appropriate places, your last and first names, the date of your household visit, as well as your potential observations in special situations in the said household [i.e. situations that could affect the reliability of the collected data].

Example of a special circumstance: a respondent in a household is not fully sane and the household information is given by persons from outside of said household.

Team leader seal
Team leader- Write legibly in the appropriate places, your last and first names, the control date, as well as your potential observations relative to the filling out of the questionnaire.

Paper number in the household and number of papers used for the household

Census agent- Write down the order number of the questionnaire and the total number of questionnaire used for the household.

It is imperative to number these questionnaires to be able to classify them. A questionnaire can contain information on households of up to 10 members. For households with more than 10 persons, use additional questionnaires. The first questionnaire shall have the number 1; the additional questionnaires shall be numbered from 2 to 9 accordingly.

Only household identifiers [department, commune, arrondissement, village/city neighborhood, census zone number, building number, household number] shall be registered on the first page of additional questionnaires. Other sections of the additional questionnaires must be filled out as required for household members starting with the 11th.

Section 2: Individual characteristics of household members

Questions 1 [order number] to 12 [residency status] apply to all persons to count in the household.

To fill out the questions in this section:

Make sure to count all household members in this section [questions 1 to 29, taking into account any skips] before going to the following section [questions 30 to 42] on deaths occurred in the household.

[Table 3 omitted]

1. Order number

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Household member must be identified using an order number consisting of 2 digits, starting with number "01" which is the number attributed to the head of household. In case the household consists of more than 10 persons, you must use as many questionnaires as necessary to register all persons in the household that is being considered. Several cases must be considered:

... and so on.

2. Last and first names

To collect precise identity references of an illiterate counted person, the census agent must ask for an authentic document containing information on his identity: last and first names, place and date of birth. For persons who can read and write, the agent shall ask the questions and register the answers: in case of difficulty, he can ask the person to spell his name.

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Write legibly the last and first names of all household members in the following order:

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N.B.: The list of household members should only be filled out once [during the first visit by the census agent] in the household. The information obtained and registered cannot be modified unless you realize that an error exists in the list of persons [an omission or error regarding information]. Consequently, departures and arrivals of persons in the household during the census must not be taken into account after the first visit. The registration order must be respected throughout the questionnaire.

3. Family relation

Family relation in the household is an alliance [marriage], blood, or adoption relations that unites household members with each other. It is, in this case, about determining the family relation of each household member with the head of household.

Ask the following question:

Write down in the appropriate boxes the code of the family relation in the household for each counted person.

The modality codes for the family relation in the household variable are the following:

Familial nucleus - This is a group of persons made by a couple with or without children or an adult with at least of his/her children. It consists of persons linked by a conjugal relation and/or biological relation [paternal or maternal].

To inquire about this information, for each household member:
Ask the following questions:
Q1: "Does [the respondent] have his/her father and mother in the household?"
If the answer is Yes, write on the line above the boxes: "Son/daughter of [Line number of father] x [Line number of mother]"

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Examples:

If one of the parents is not in the household, replace this parent's number by "00." Thus, if neither parent is in the household, note son or daughter of 00x00.

For persons with a spouse, ask the following question:

Examples:

During the fieldwork, the box reserved to code the family nucleus must be left blank. Its processing is reserved to the office

4. Sex

This is one of the fundamental variables in demographics, such as age, that is important to ensure it is easily reportable.

Circle the code corresponding to the sex of each counted person after the family relation.
If you have doubt on the sex, you can ask the question in the following manner: "Just to make sure, is Femi [it might be a fictitious name] a man or a woman?"
Avoid questions such as "what is your sex Madam?"

The modality codes for the variable sex are:

The answer on sex is mandatory. Non-responses are not accepted.

5. Date of birth

The date of birth of an individual indicates the day, month, and year of the birth. There are individuals who know their exact date of birth. There are those who do not know the complete date of birth but could at least recognize the month and year of their birth.

To gather information relative to an individual's date of birth, proceed as follows by asking the following question: [Q]: "Do you know the exact month and year of your birth?" If the answer is "yes," ask the interviewed person to tell you the month and year of their birth and register this answer in the appropriate boxes:

Example: for a person born in October 1970,
Write down 10 in the two upper boxes [month] and 1970 in the four lower boxes [year].
Calculate the age and write it in the boxes reserved to this effect in column 6.

If the person does not know their date of birth, ask if they possess a civil status document, and identification card, a passport, a driver's license, or any other official document that could indicate the date of birth. If the answer is "yes," ask them to produce the document and use it to report the month and year of birth in the appropriate boxes.

In the case where the person only knows their year of birth, write down the year in the appropriate boxes and write down "98" in the boxes reserved for the month.

If the person does not know their date of birth and has no document that can provide information on the date of birth, in this case, ask if they have an idea on their age. If the answer "yes," write down their age in the boxes reserved to age transcription in question 6, then calculate the date of birth as the difference between the observation date and the age of this person. Then write down "98" in the boxes reserved to the transcription of the month of birth.

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6. Age

The age of an individual is the number of years lived by this individual since the day of their birth until today. The exact age of an individual is calculated as the difference between the observation date and the date of birth. Age in past years is the number of full years lived by this individual since their birth. The age that will be considered is the age in past years i.e. the age at the last birthday.

If an individual's exact date of birth is not known, but only the year of birth is, the age at the birthday is calculated as the difference between the years. Thus, a person born in 1993 will be 20 years old in 2013 i.e. will have their 20th birthday in 2012.

Example 1: Exact age on January 15, 2013.The exact age of an individual born on April 1st, 2000 is 12 years, 9 months, and 15 days, or 12.79 years. The age in past years for this individual is 12. Write down 12 in the boxes reserved to age.

Example 2: Exact age on July 15, 2013.The exact age of an individual born on April 1st, 2000 is 12 years, 3 months, and 15 days, or 13.29 years. The age in past years for this individual is 13.Write down 13 in the boxes reserved to age.

If the person does not know their age, or their date of birth, or has no document that can indicate the date of birth, estimate their age by referring to:
1. Certain time makers relating to historical, social, and economic events, well known in the zone;
2. By comparing them to other persons of the same generation in the neighborhood.

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Table 4 presents certain important historical events in the country.

Table 4: Important historical events in Benin

In all cases, the variables "date of birth" and "age" must be inquired about for all individuals. For persons aged 98 and more, write down "98" in the boxes reserved to this effect.

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Table 5: Coherence between age and date of birth for an operation in 2013
[Table omitted]

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7. Place of birth

The place of birth is, for persons born in Benin, the department and the commune in which they are born. For persons born outside of Benin, the place of birth designates their country of birth.

Ask the following question to the counted person:
Q: "Were you born in Benin?"

If the answer is "yes," ask the following question:
Q: "In which department and in which commune were you born/was [the respondent] born?"
Write down the given response on the line corresponding to the person's registration order number.

NB: This concerns the 12 new departments.

If the person was born in Benin and knows their village/neighborhood of birth but cannot recognize the commune, ask them the following question:
Q: "To which arrondissement is your village/neighborhood attached?"

Do not write anything in the questionnaire. Note the information in your draft notebook specifying the identifiers of the household and the order number of the person and informed the team leader in order to find a potential solution together.

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If the answer is "no," the person is born outside of Benin; ask them the following question:
Q: "In which country were you born?"
Write down the given answer on the line corresponding to the person's registration order number.
NB: One must take into account changes that occurred following the current administrative division [going from 6 to 12 departments] to affect the department of birth of the counted person. Consequently, only report the current department to which the declared commune is attached.

Due to limited space reserved to that effect, use the following abbreviations for departments:

Example: for a person who declares being born in the commune of Ze [with accent on the e] in the department of the Atlantic, mark ATL/ZE on the horizontal line reserved to that effect and leave the boxes below blank [they will filled out at the office].

Table 6: Example of a summary table of columns [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], and [7].
[Table omitted]

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[7 lines of examples omitted]

8. Birth registration

The birth certificate is the legal document established by the civil registrar officer and proving the birth of a person.

A supplementary judgment [court order] substituting for a birth certificate is the document that replaces a birth certificate when the declaration was not made within the timeframe fixed by law.

For each member of the household, the census agent shall ask the following question:
Q: "Do you or does [the respondent] have a birth certificate or a supplementary judgment?"
Circle code number 1 is the answer is Yes or code number 2 is the answer is No.

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9. Ethnicity or nationality

Ethnicity is a person's belonging to a sociolinguistic and cultural community.

Nationality is a person's citizenship to a country or a given state.

First, ask the following question:

Example: For Beninese, a possible response is the following: Ditamari, Yoruba, Fon, Adja, Goun, Dendi, Yom, Nagot, Mahi, etc.;

NB: Write down "naturalized" for persons who acquired the Beninese nationality [through alliance [marriage] or any other way], since they cannot be attributed a national ethnicity.

For persons with foreign nationalities, ask the following question:

Examples:

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10. Religion

Religion is a collection of beliefs and practices that govern the relation between men and a divinity, or in a general fashion, the sacred. There exist conventional and traditional religions.

Ask the following question: Q: "What you're [the respondent]'s religion?"

The modality codes for the variable religion used for the 4th GPHC of Benin are:

Circle the code of the religion of the counted person.

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11. Type of Handicap

A handicap is defined as a limitation of physical and/or mental abilities of a person, due to a deficiency that is congenital or acquired during one's existence. In other terms, it is a disadvantage of which a person suffers following an infirmity or incapacity and that prohibits them for totally or partially fulfilling a task that is otherwise normal given their age, sex, and different cultural factors. Any person incapable of fulfilling alone all or some necessities of a normal individual or social life, as a result of a deficiency, congenital or not, of their physical or mental capacities is considered handicapped.

Below is the list of elementary handicaps that the 4th GPHC of Benin has retained:

[] 00. No handicap

[] 1. Cerebral motor infirm - Individual suffering from dysfunctionalities of neurological origin causing difficulties in regular acts such as eating, speaking, walking, writing, etc. The individual exhibits movement rigidity, an inability to relax muscles, involuntary movements, a bad coordination of voluntary movements, and difficulties in ensuring a good vision coordination.

Motor handicap
[] 2. Amputated - A person having had a member cut.

[] 3. Paralyzed - A person having a blocked member, that can neither act nor function.

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Visual handicap
[] 4. Amblyopic - Visually impaired, having difficulty seeing, even with glasses.

[] 5. Blind - A person incapable of seeing, even with glasses

Auditory/verbal handicap
[] 6. Hearing impaired - A person having difficulty hearing, even with a hearing aid.

[] 7. Deaf - A person incapable of hearing, even with a hearing aid.

[] 8. Mute - A person incapable of communicating//speaking.

Intellectual handicap
[] 9. Trisomic [Down Syndrome] - A person suffering from a pathological state characterized by a mental debility and physical malformations, recognizable shortly following birth through an association with small size, an Asian type facies, a skin fold at the inner corner of the eye, a flattened skull, a frequently externalized tongue, hands with anomalous palm folds and short fingers.

[] 10. Autistic - An individual with a personality problem appearing in early childhood and characterized by an introverted attitude, a lack of interest in the surrounding world, a need to keep one's material environment identical, and language troubles.

[] 11. Mentally retarded [exact word used] - An individual suffering from an incomplete mental development or a stop in mental development, characterized by an insufficiency of faculties and of the global level of intelligence, notably at the level of cognitive functions, language, motor skills, and social performances.

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Mental handicap
[] 12. Mentally ill - A person suffering from an illness characterized by the presence of delirious ideas and/or hallucinations during which the patient is not conscious of their personality troubles.

Ask the following question:

Q: "Does [the respondent] exhibit one [or some] physical or mental handicap[s], apparent or non-apparent?"

NB: when the handicap is manifestly visible, note it down and go to the following question;
At most three main declared handicaps can be registered for a person suffering from several infirmities.

[] Write down in the 1st, then the 2nd, then the 3rd grid corresponding to the registration order number of the counted person, respectively the 1st, then potentially the 2nd, then potentially the 3rd handicap.

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If the counted person does not suffer from any handicap

If the counted person suffers from one handicap:

If the counted person suffers from two handicaps:

If the counted person suffers from three handicaps:

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12. Residency situation

The inhabited sites that you must visit refer to any location where at least one person resides permanently. The notion of residency situation is linked to that of habitual domicile and to that of the duration in the household or outside of the household relative to a reference duration of 6 months [relative to the date of the census].

Thus, a person shall be considered as a "resident" in the household if they have been living in it:
Habitually since 6 months or;
Since less than 6 months but with the intention of remaining for more than 6 months.

Example:

This variable allows classifying individuals based on their stay in the household.

The modality codes of the variable residency situation are:

A resident is considered a Present Resident if he spent the night preceding the first visit of the census agent in the household. However, a baby born on the day of the census agent's visit must be considered a present resident even if he is still being nursed by his mother who is also considered a present resident of the household.

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A resident is considered an absent resident if he did not spend the night preceding the first visit of the census agent in the household. Such absence must not exceed 6 months.
Is considered a visitor, any non-resident person having spent the night preceding the first visit of the census agent in the household; the total duration of their presence in the household must not exceed 6 months.

A person registered as "absent resident" at the first visit will keep this status even if they return to the household during the counting period. They may however answer themselves to questions regarding them. Similarly, a "present resident" will keep the same status even if they travel after the first household visit. Thus after the first census agent visit, it becomes impossible to update the list of household members.
Circle the modality code of the residency situation of the counted person.

Attention: All students living in dorms or going to school elsewhere and having spent the night preceding your household visit must be considered visitors.

NB: Residents detained in jail or at a police station or brigade shall be counted in their ordinary household. However, prisoners shall be counted in their collective households. Those accompanying the sick who are non-residents shall be considered in the collective household while those accompanying residents shall be considered in their household.

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13. Location of previous residence

The question relative to location of residency only applies to household members, present residents and absent residents. Visitors are thus not included.

The location of previous residence is the department or commune [or the country is abroad] where the counted person has lived [for at least 6 months] right before settling into their location of residence during the current census.

Q: "Where did [the respondent] reside continuously and for at least 6 months before settling into the current location of residence [habitual location]?"

NB: Make sure that [the respondent] has spent at least 6 months in the previous residence.

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14. Duration in current residence

This is the time, in number of elapsed years [number of full years that elapsed], since the person has settled into the commune of the current residence.

Q: "Since how many years do you/[the respondent] live in this commune?"

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15. Survival of father

This is to know whether the father of the counted person is still alive or has passed.

Ask the question: Q: "Is your/[the respondent]'s father still alive, and, if yes, where does he live?"
Circle the code corresponding to the given response.

The codes to use are:

16. Survival of mother

This is to know whether the mother of the counted person is still alive or has passed.

Ask the question: Q: "Is your/[the respondent]'s mother still alive, and, if yes, where does she live?"
[] Circle the code corresponding to the given response.

NB: This regards biological parents.

The codes to use are:

17. Main language spoken in the household

The question relative to this variable only concerns those of age 3 and higher.
For children younger than 3, leave the columns blank.

Ask the question: Q: "What is the main language spoken by [the respondent] in the household?"
Write down the declared language on the corresponding horizontal line and leave the code boxes blank.

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18. Preschool and school attendance

The question relative to this variable only concerns persons of 3 or more years of age. For children below 3, leave those columns blank.

School attendance is the regular attendance of an education establishment or system, public or private, licensed to provide structured studies, at any level of education at the date of the census.

Ask Q: "Have you/has [the respondent] attended school?"

19. Last grade level attended

This is the last grade level that the counted person attended, whether successfully completed it or not.
Q: "What is the last grade level that you/[the respondent] attended?"

Write down legibly on the corresponding line the last grade level attended by the counted person, and following the registration order.

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Abbreviations are as follows:

Preschool education

Elementary education

Technical education

General mid-level education

Higher education

Remark - Take into account conventional schools and exclude biblical and koranic schools, short formations such as dactylography or sewing courses. However, there must be included technical or professional formations that follow the complete cycle such as mechanical or secretarial formations, etc.

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20. Literacy

The question relative to this variable only concerns those of 6 or more years of age.
Literacy is a persons' ability to read and write, while understanding, a text on daily events in any language [national language, foreign language].

There is only one possible answer per eligible individual.

Ask the following question:

Q: "Can [the respondent] read, write, and fluently speak certain specific languages?"

Circle the code corresponding to the declaration of the counted person according to the following modalities:

21. Occupation status

This variable allows knowing whether a person has worked for at least 7 days [continuously or not] during the last 3 months preceding your visit in the household. In other words, the reference period is determined starting on the date of your first visit in the household. This means that you should count back 3 months starting with the date of your first visit, and those 3 months correspond to the reference period [3 months in this specific case equal 90 days].

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Example: You visit Mister Paul Kiki's household on May 10th, 2013. You wish to ask the question on economic activity. You count 3 months "backward" since May 10th which is the date of your first visit. Three [3] months back are April, March, and February. The reference period for Mr. Paul Kiki's household will be that going from February 10th, 2013 to May 9th 2013. Ask, Mr. Paul Kiki and each member of his household of 6 years or more of age, the question on the occupation status during the period going from February 10th 2013 to May 9th 2013.

Each person who has affectively worked in an employment position [good production or services] for at least 7 years [continuous or not] during the last 3 months preceding your first visit in the household, whether the work was remunerated or not shall be considered employed

NB: Persons who have an employment but have temporarily not worked due to an illness or injury, a holiday or vacation [or leave, the word could mean both], a strike or a layoff, a study or formation leave, a maternal or paternal leave, a disorganization or a temporary work suspension following notably severe weather, mechanical deficiencies or electrical outage, a shortage in raw materials or in combustibles, or any other temporary absence whether authorized or not, are to be considered employed under the condition that they are effectively assured to return to work at the end of the exceptional situation.

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This variable's categories are:

NB: The data on persons taking care of the household require particular attention, because some of their activities are considered part of the domain of production according to the definition of the National Accounting System and meaning that these persons have an employment [for example production and/or transformation of agricultural products, weaving, sewing], while they risk of being considered as not have an economic activity.

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Q: "Have you/has [the respondent] exercised a good and services production activity in the last 3 months?"

If yes, ask:

NB: Apprentices are employed person and must be classified in the corresponding sectors: informal, formal private, or formal public.

If for question 21 [Occupation status], the response code if different from 0, 1, 2, or 3, do not ask questions number 22, 23, and 24. In this case, directly skip to questions number 25 [marital status].

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22. Current profession

Profession designates the type of work done by the employed person [or, in the case of an unemployed, the type of work done previously], regardless of the branch of economic activity or the occupation status of the person.
The type of work is described by the main tasks and attributions that are connected to it.

In the case of an employed person, ask:

Example: Loincloth saleswoman, donut salesman, pork breeder, school teacher, administrative secretary, data entry operator, zemidjan [Benin type of taxi] driver, university professor, physician, corn farmer, cotton farmer, road maintenance agent, etc.

NB:

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23. Employment situation
Employment situation, which concerns the worker's situation relative to their colleagues [if any] in the company. Allows a categorization of the employed active population.
Q: "What is your/what was [the respondent]'s situation in the profession exercised?"

The modality codes of the employment situation are:

Circle the code corresponding to the given response.

24. Branch of activity

The branch of activity corresponds to the activity of the establishment or enterprise where the person has worked for at least 7 days [continuous or not] in the 3 last months preceding the census agent's visit.

This also concerns unemployed persons who have already worked [code "3" of number 21 "unemployed"] of the last branch of activity in which they worked.

Q: "What is/was the main activity that [the respondent] exercises/exercised or the enterprise in which you/[the respondent] work/works?"

Write legibly the declared type of activity on the corresponding line.

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Example 1:

Attention: In certain cases, a domestic worker or a household personnel [cook, driver, guard, etc.] can be appointed to the service of high level official [minister, general manager of a public or private company] while being paid by the employer or the company that employs the official. In such case, the person is not a household personnel but a salaried employee or that employer or enterprise. For this category of personnel, write down the name of the hiring employer or enterprise.

Example 2:

Example 3:

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25. Marital status

The question on marital status shall only be asked to men and women household residents age 10 or more.

For person younger than 10 years, leave columns 26, 27, 28, and 29 blank then skip to the person on the following line, if there is no other person, skip to question 30.

Marital status is defined as the existence or not of conjugal relations between two persons of the opposite sex. In light of existing laws and customs, one can distinguish:

Single: is considered single any person who has never been married;

Married: is married any person united by law, custom, or religion to another person of the opposite sex;

Monogamous marriage:

Polygamous marriage with 2, 3, 4, or more women:

Divorced: is divorced any person who has severed all ties [legal or customary] that linked them to their partner and who has not remarried; however, a man in polygamous marriage who divorces one of his spouses remains married.

Widower/widow: is a widower/widow any person whose partner has died and who has not remarried; however, a man in polygamous marriage whose wife dies remains married.

Separated: is separated a person who has been abandoned or is separated from their partner, legally or not, but whose divorce has not yet been pronounced; however, a man in polygamous marriage who is separated from one of his spouses remains married.

Free union: is considered living in a free union, any person living with another person of the opposite sex without having had a civil, customary, or religious marriage celebrated.

The modality codes of the variable marital status are:

Q: "Are you/is [the respondent] married?"

26. Children born alive

The questions concerning live births only apply to resident woman of 10 years or more of age.

Children younger than one year registered in the household as household members and whose mothers no longer reside in the household [due to death or departure] shall not be considered in the births to women historical calendar.

Is considered live birth any product resulting from conception and which, after expulsion or extraction for the mother's body, exhibits any sign of life such as shouting, crying, breathing, heart beating, mobility [movements], even if he only lived for a few minutes after birth.

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Q: "Has [the respondent] already given birth to a living child?"

27. Living children

Q: "Of all these children, how many boys are still alive and how many girls are still alive?"
Write down the declared numbers in the boxes reserved to that effect.

28. Live births since January 1st 2012

Q: "Have you/has [the respondent] had any live births during the period from January 1st 2012 until today?"

If the answer to question number 26 ["born alive children"] = "00," this woman has never had any born alive children in her life and as a result, she has not had any living birth since January 1st 2012. Ask the question anyway but under the following form:

Q: "Do you confirm that you have not had any living births since January 1st 2012?"

If the answer is yes, then write down "0" in each one of the small boxes situated opposite of "M" and "F," which symbolize the sex of the children who would have been born alive since January 1st 2012, in the section reserved to the registration of this woman's data.

If the answer is No, meaning that the woman declared having had a living birth since January 1st 2012, ask her the following question:

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Q: "Where is this child?"
If it is conformed that this child is born alive since January 1st 2012, then:

Ask her the sex of this child and write down "1" in one of the boxes opposite from "M" or "F" depending on the child's sex.

Remember that there will be a correction regarding the answers given previously for questions 26 and 27; in light of new data, please make any necessary corrections.

If the answer to question number 26 "M" is higher than 0 and/or number 26 "F" is higher than 0, then this woman has already had born alive children in her life; ask her the following question:

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Q: "Of the "n" male children that you had, how many were born since January 1st 2012?"

If the answer obtained is a number lower or equal to the one for question number 26 "M", then:
Write down this number for number 28 in the small cell situated opposite to "M" in the part reserved to the registration of this woman's data.

Then ask the following question:

Q: "Of the "n" female children that you had, how many were born since January 1st 2012?"

If the answer obtained is a number lower or equal to the one for question number 26 "F", then write down this number for number 28 in the small cell situated opposite to "F" in the part reserved to the registration of this woman's data.

29. Children born since January 1st 2012 and still alive

Q: "How many boys born since January 1st 2012 are still alive and how many girls born since January 1st 2012 are still alive?"

Write down the declared numbers in the boxes reserved to that effect.

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Section 3: Household deaths since January 1st 2012

The data on deaths since January 1st 2012 are extremely important and, for these questions, it is difficult to obtain exact data if you do not tactful. Start by saying that you know that the topic is painful but that the information is important.

Certain persons might neglect to mention the children who died very young, and that's why if the answer is "no", it is important to insist by saying "no boy or girl who has cried or has given signs of life but has only lived for a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days?

Similarly, certain persons might not well-disposed to talk about this subject and can become sad or troubled when you ask them such questions. In such situations, you must show sympathy and tact. Remind them that you know that the topic is painful but that the information is important.

NB: Deaths since January 1st 2012 are counted since the reference night, i.e. since the night preceding your household visit.

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30. Deaths in the household since January 1st 2012

Q: "Have there been any deaths in this household from the period since January 1st 2012 until yesterday?"

If the answer is no, circle the code "2" and go to question number 43 [construction type] in the section Habitation Characteristics.

If the answer is yes, circle the code "1" and go to question number 31.

31. Order number

This is the column of the order number for the deaths that occurred in the household since January 1st 2012. Start registering from the 1st death of the period until the last.

32. Last name and first name of the deceased
Register the name of the deceased and then ask the following question:

Q: "Has there been any other deaths in the household since January 1st 2012?"

Write down the names of the dead in the columns reserved to that effect.

33. Sex of the deceased
Ask for the sex of the deceased; circle the code corresponding to the given answer.

[Page 80]

The modality codes of the variable sex of the deceased are:

34. Date of birth of the deceased
Ask for the date of birth of deceased person;
Write down the month and year of birth of the deceased in the boxes reserved to that effect.

NB: If the month and year of birth of the deceased are unknown, refer to the instructions for questions number 5 and 6 of this manual [the census agent can estimate the date of birth given age at death].

35. Date of death
Ask for the date of death;
Write down the month and year of death in the boxes reserved to that effect.

36. Age at death

[Page 81]

Q: "A what age has [the respondent] died?"

Write down the age at death of each deceased person in the boxes reserved to that effect.

Example: [3 examples showing the above instructions are omitted]

[Page 82]

NB: -Live births that occurred during the reference period followed by deaths must be included for questions number 26 [children born alive] and 28 [live births since January 1st 2012]. If not, make corrections.

The census agent must collect information on age at death. This column must be filled out.

37. Location of burial

This is to know whether burial took place in an [inhabited] domicile, cemetery, or elsewhere. Circle the code corresponding to the declared modality:

Q: "Where was [the respondent] buried?"

The response modalities are:

Example: If for example the person died at Cotonou and has been buried in the family concession in Ouidah, they are buried in "other domicile elsewhere" and the code "2" shall be circled.

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38. Marital status at death

This question concerns persons who died at age 10 and higher.

Q: "At their time of death, what was [the respondent]'s marital status?"

Circle the code corresponding to the declaration. [Refer to the modality codes of marital status for question number 25 "marital status"].

Maternal mortality [women from 10 to 55 years of age]

The questions [39, 40, 41, and 42] relative to maternal deaths are only relevant to woman between the ages of 10 and 55 at the time of their deaths [age declared in column 36]. If it's a man or a woman aged less than 10 or more than 55, go the line on the following death.

Maternal death is defined as: "the death of a woman that occurred during pregnancy, while giving birth, or within 42 days after birth, regardless of duration and location, for any cause determined or aggravated by pregnancy or the care it required, expect for accidental or incidental deaths."

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39. Deaths related to pregnancy

Q: "Did [the respondent] die due to problems related to pregnancy?"

40. Death during birth giving

Q: "Did [the respondent] die due to problems related to birth giving?"

41. Death due to birth giving in the following 42 days

Q: "Did [the respondent] die due to problems related to birth giving in the 42 days that followed?"
Circle the modality code for the given response;

42. Location of death [maternal deaths]

Q: "Where did [the respondent] die?"

The response modalities are the following:

Circle the code of the given response's modality.

[Page 85]

Section 4: Habitation Characteristics

This section gives information on the characteristics of the household's lodging.

In the case where a more than one questionnaire is used for the household, the answers to the questions on the habitation's characteristics shall only be noted on form number 1 used for the household.

43. Construction type

The modality codes for this variable are:

Isolated house- This is a building that is used for habitation/lodging and that is not linked to any other construction.

Strip house [compartmentalized]- Compartmentalized building that can serve as housing for several households.

Villa- This is a house with definitive material and having certain standing dispositions [gate, garden, sometimes pool..]. This is the case of houses that are found in residential zones in Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Parakou, etc.

Apartment building [with floors]- Building with several floors and levels, and that are divided into apartments.

Isolated case [traditional habitation]- Hut, habitation made of straw, bamboo, leaves, or clay and that is not linked to any other construction. Example: Paillotes in the South, hut, Tatas in the North, houses on stilts.

44. Concession

The modality codes for this variable are:

Concession: collection of buildings or grouped constructions that constitute one or several habitation units and giving access or not to a central yard. A concession can be gated or not.

45. Usage type [of building]

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Is this building only used as housing for the household or is it used for other purposes [mixed usage]?"

Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the interviewee's response.

Habitation: building exclusively used for housing

Mixed: building with multiple usages

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46. Habitation occupation status

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Are you the owner of your habitation unit?"

If yes, ask: "Do you have a legal property title?"
If yes, circle the code 1 [Property owner with a legal property title].
If no, circle the code 2 [Property owner without a legal property title].

If No to the first question, ask the question: "Are you housed by your employer [public or private] or by a family member/friend?"

If yes, circle the code corresponding to the declared modality:
[5] Housed by employer or [6] Housed by a family member/friend

If no, ask the following question: "What is your occupation status?" and circle the corresponding code:

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47. Number of occupied rooms

A room is a space in the habitation unit or in other units used for habitation, surrounded by walls going from the floor to the ceiling [or, eventually, the roof] or to at least a height of 2 meters above the ground, and large enough to contain one adult bed.

NB: Are included in the definition, bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, studies, habitable lofts [attics], household personnel rooms, kitchens, rooms used to exercise a profession or for trading, and other spaces used for habitation or destined for habitation, with the condition that they satisfy the conditions on habitable surface and walls. Hallways, verandas, vestibules, etc., bathrooms, and WC must not be counted as rooms, even if they satisfy these conditions.

Q: "How many rooms does your housing have?"
Write down the number corresponding to the obtained response.

48. Main roof type

This is the main construction of the habitation unit.

The modality codes for this variable are:

[Page 89]

49. Main wall type

This is the main construction of the habitation unit.

The modality codes for this variable are:

50. Main floor type

This is the main construction of the habitation unit.

The modality codes for this variable are:

Circle, respectively, the codes corresponding to the questions number 48, 49, and 50. Start with your own observations before asking these questions.

51. [Main] lighting mode

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "What is the main mode of lighting for this housing unit?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of your interviewee's answer.

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52. [Main] mode of drinking water procurement

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Where does your drinking water come from?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the declared answer.

53. [Main] mode of sanitation

This concerns the mode of evacuation of household members' excrements.

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "What type of sanitation mode does this housing unit have?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the interviewee's answer.

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54. [Main] mode of used water evacuation

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Where do you throw your dirty water?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the declared answer.

55. [Main] mode of household garbage evacuation

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Where do you throw your garbage?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the declared answer.

56. Most used cooking method

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "What combustible do you most often use to cook?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the interviewee's answer.

[Page 92]

57. Head of household's revenue

This variable only concerns the head of household. Ask the following question.

Q: "How much have you [has the head of household] made in the last month or how much do you estimate your [his] last month's income to be?"
Write down the value corresponding to the obtained answer.

Keep in mind that the revenue estimate differs according to the occupation status of the head of household. In fact:

If the head of household has a monthly salary his revenue corresponds to his net salary as well as his other potential sources of income;

If the head of household does not have a monthly salary:

If the head of household is an employer or an independent:

NB: the registration of income in the boxes reserved to that effect shall be done from right to left.

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Section 5: Goods owned by the household

This section provides information on the goods that household owns. Information on the households' owned goods, and that is normally part of the equipment of the spaces used for habitation [radio receptors, televisions, for example], must be obtained by referring to the households. Similarly, the information relative to rent is necessarily obtained by referring to the households.

The answers to questions that follow shall only be reported on the form number 1 used for the household.

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58.1. Possession of [consumption] goods

When it is said that the household possesses/disposes of a good, it is meant that the household is proprietary thereof.

Only take into account functional goods at the time of your household visit. In other words, goods that are provisionally or definitively out of usage shall not be considered.

The modality codes for this variable are:

Q: "Does your household possess any of the following goods?"

Cite, one by one, each listed good and write, as you go, the modality code corresponding to the given response. All listed items must be cited one by one according their numbering order.

In the small box situated opposite from the designated good, write down the code "1" if the interviewee's answer is Yes, or the code "2" if the answer is No.

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58.2. Number of owned functional phone lines and lands/plots

Landline: A landline is a telephonic line, generally made of copper wires, linking the
subscriber's terminal, for example a telephone or fax post, to a public telephonic network, with a special connection to a telephonic standard. Even if around the world, the wireless phone has supplanted landlines, those remain nonetheless an important low cost mode of communication. Moreover, they serve as basis for internet access in the majority of the country, whether through the habitual line or trough numeric networks integrating internet services or a numeric access line.

Q: "How many landlines does the household unit have?"
Write down the declared number in the box reserved to that effect.

GSM line: In many countries, the mobile phone is becoming the main mode of communication. The numbers concerning mobile lines are thus fundamental indicators of the information society.

Q: "How many active GSM cards do members of this household have?"
Write down the declared number in the boxes reserved to the effect. This is the total number of GSM cards of all household members.

Lands/plots: This is the land ownership of the household, with or without a legal title.

Q: "How many lands does the household have?"
Write down the declared number in the boxes reserved to that effect.


[Page 96]

58.3. Rented house[s] ownership

Q: "Do you own one/many houses that you are currently renting out?"
Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the obtained answer.
If the answer is No, go to question 58.5.

58.4. Total amount of collected rent

Ask the following question:

Q: "What is the total monthly rent [in CFA francs] received from rent?"

Write down the declared amount in the boxes reserved to that effect. Note the amount to the right.

If the number of lands/plots is equal to 0 and the question 58.3 is Yes, return to question 58.2 and correct it.

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58.5. Internet access

Q:"What method do household members usually use to access the internet?"

The answer modalities for this variable are:

Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the obtained response.

Section 6: Agricultural exploitation

Definition: An agricultural household is a household whose head or one member is a farmer.

A farmer is a person, man, or woman, who practices an agricultural/breeding activity in their own exploitation [field, plantation, farm, fish breeding pond, livestock, etc.] as worker or as independent worker, with potentially the active participation of family members or as employer.

59.1. Existence of a farmer in the household

Q: "Is there a person who manages or practices an agricultural activity in the household?"

If code "1" [Yes] is circled,

If code "2" [No] is circled,

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59.2. Main domain of agricultural activity

The main exploitation is the one with the highest production level and not the largest surface.

The answer modalities for this variable are:

Q: "What the main domain of activity of this exploitation?"

Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the obtained answer.

[Page 99]

59.3. Two highest productions in the main domain of activity

The Strategic Plan for the Revival of the Agricultural Sector [PSRSA] of the Ministry of Agriculture, Breeding, and Fishing [MAEP] has designed 13 fields, categorized by the domain of activities to which they belong. This categorization is as follows:

Table 7: Codes relative to the main domain of activity

[Page 100]

Q: "What where the 2 highest productions for the 2012-2023 campaign in the main domain cited in question 59.2?"

NB: This campaign goes from March 2012 to March 2013.

[Page 101]

59.4. Type of mainly used equipment

The answer modality codes for this variable are:

Traditional: usage of a hoe, daba, machete, cutter, ax.
Using animals: Animal traction
Mechanic: using tractors

Q: "What type of agricultural equipment do you usually use in your main domain's productions activities?"

Circle the code corresponding to the modality of the obtained response.

59.5. Total surface of owned agricultural lands

Q: "What the total surface, in hectares, of the whole of agricultural lands owned by the household?"

Register the interviewee's answer in the boxes designated to that effect.

[Page 102]

Census Agent

You have reached the end of the interview:

At the end of each work day, you must summarize the results of the count of the population living in the household, by filling out the summary table on the first page of each household questionnaire as well as the buildings and households form in your census zone.