[This document combines the census guide and instructions for population census and the instructions to chief enumerators for the housing census]
Ministry of Economic Planning and Development
Central Statistical Office
Population Census
Night of 1-2 July 1990
Census guide and instructions
1. Introduction
A few months ago, census officers went from door to door to collect information on the housing conditions of the population. They also made a list of all households and their addresses. A Population Census form is now ready for each household. The aim of this guide is to help you fill in your Census form. Detailed instructions are given in section 7. The guide also answers some questions you may have about the Census itself. If you still have any difficulties, do not hesitate to ask the enumerator when he calls to collect your form.
2. Why take a census?
The Census gives a complete and reliable picture of the nation as a whole as well as the groups of people living in specific areas. How many of us live in this town or locality? How many are children? How many are old enough to vote? How many are too old to work? How many are women? What kind of jobs are we doing? How many of us are working in agriculture? How many in industries? How many of us have moved into this area? How many have moved out to live in another part of the country?
The Census helps to answer these questions and many others. The information is of enormous help to government, local authorities and citizens' groups to make plans to improve the living conditions of the people, to build houses, roads, schools, health centers, community welfare centers, baby care centers, industrial estates, technical training institutes. The Census helps to decide where these facilities should be located so that they can benefit the largest number of people. The Census figures provide an objective basis to establish priorities and to allocate funds to services such as education, technical training, health and social security. Every country needs a Census to plan ahead. In Mauritius, a complete count of the population was first made ln 1735. However, the history of the Census as we know it today, dates back to 1846. The 1990 Census will be the sixteenth complete census to be taken for the Island of Mauritius and the sixth for the Island of Rodrigues.
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3. What happens to your Census form?
The enumerator who delivered the form will come to collect it one or two days after Census night of 1 July 1990. If the answers are incomplete or inaccurate, he will ask you any questions necessary to him to complete or correct the form. The form will then be sent to the Central Statistical Office where the answers will be coded and then transferred to computer. The computer will combine your coded answers with those of other persons to produce statistical tables. It is these tables, and not your personal details, which will be made available to all Census data users. Your name and address will not be transferred to computer. Your form itself will be kept under lock and key until it can be destroyed under official supervision.
4. Why are names required?
You need to list names on the Census form to ensure that you have not missed someone. The names also help the enumerator to check that all questions have been correctly answered for each person. Later on, the names will help us understand the composition of your household for coding purposes.
5. What guarantee is there for the protection of your privacy?
The Census is taken under the Statistics Act. The law requires you to provide the information requested on the Census form, but you are also protected by that same law. It provides penalties, including imprisonment, for anyone who breaches the confidentiality of your answers. All Census employees, and all staff of the Central Statistical Office whether permanent or temporary, have signed an undertaking before a magistrate to keep your answers secret. The law also forbids the Director of Statistics to give your form or your personal details to any other Government Department or to any other authority or person. The Central Statistical Office has always upheld its pledge of secrecy with respect to an individual information.
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6. The Census topics and their usefulness
The Census form contains a lot of questions. Some of them may look irrelevant to you. But each question, taken on its own or in relation to others, provides valuable information on the people in different areas. This information can be used by both public and private institutions to determine and plan for the type of services needed by the community. When compared with results of previous censuses, it shows how we have been growing and developing as well as the direction in which we are going.
The questions being asked at the 1990 Census and some of the reasons for their inclusion are given below:
Whereabouts on Census night and usual address
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Religion, linguistic group, language usually spoken
Languages read and written, and school attendance
Primary and secondary education
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Tertiary education and technical training
Name and type of establishment
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7. Instructions on how to fill in the census form
The Census form has to be filled in completely by the head of the household.
A household is either one person living alone, or a group of persons, who may or may not be related, but who live together and make common provision for food and other essentials for living. The head of household is any adult member, whether male or female, who is acknowledged as head by the other members.
The census form can contain information for up to 10 persons. If there are more than ten persons, continue on a new form which can be obtained from the Census enumerator. Please note that nothing should be written in the shaded boxes [][]: they are reserved for inserting codes.
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After completing the form, have it ready so that the enumerator can collect it on Monday 2 July 1990 or soon after. If you are not sure how to complete any of the entries, please ask the enumerator to help you when he or she calls. He or she will also check your answers and ask any questions necessary to complete the form and correct inaccurate entries.
Column 1 - Person number
Do not write anything in this column. The numbers are codes that distinguish the different persons on the form. It is these codes which will be entered in the computer and not the names of persons given in column 2. If there are more than 10 persons, use a second form and correct the person number to 11, 12...
Column 2 - Surname and other names
Fill in one line for every person who:
(ii) Arrives on the premises and joins the household on Monday 2 July 1990 without having been enumerated elsewhere;
(iii) Usually lives in the household but was away on census night, for example, on night work, on a business trip, on vacation, in hospital, or studying abroad, even if the person is also being enumerated elsewhere.
Enter the name (surname first) of every person in the following order:
-spouse of head
-unmarried children of head (from eldest to youngest),
-married children of head and their families,
-other relatives of head (father, mother, nephew, niece, mother-in-law, etc.).
-other persons (visitor, lodger, servant, etc.)
Babies born before midnight on Sunday 1 July 1990 should also be included. If the baby has no name, write 'baby' and surname,
To make sure that no person is omitted, list all of them in column 2 before completing the remainder of the form for each one in turn.
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Note that surnames should be written first. Ditto marks (- d0 -) can be used when the surname is the same as the one on the preceding line.
Use one and only one line for every person; do not enter two persons on the same line and do not skip any line between persons. All unused lines should be left blank.
Column 3 - Relationship to head
State clearly the exact relationship of each person to the head who is entered on the first line, e.g. spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, mother, father, uncle, cousin, grand-father, lodger, visitor, servant, lodger's wife, servant's daughter, etc.
Note that the entry must be in relation to the head and not to anyone else. Thus the wife of a married son living with his father who is the head, should be reported as 'daughter-in-law' and not as spouse. Write 'spouse' only for the spouse of the head. Similarly, write 'son' or 'daughter' for the children of the head only regardless of their age.
Step children and adopted children should be classified as sons or daughters.
Column 4 - Sex
Enter M for males and F for females
Column 5
Age
Write the age of the person in completed years. Thus if the person is 15 years and 11 months old on Census night, write '15 years'. For a baby who has not yet attained 1 year write '0 year';
If you are not sure about the age of a person, consult the birth certificate if available; otherwise enter the best estimate and indicate that the figure is an estimate e.g. 85 years (est).
Column 6
Month and year of birth
Write the month and year of birth of the person, e.g. Nov 1965, Jan 1899, and June 1990. If the month is not known, write the year only. If the year of birth is not known, give your best estimate.
Column 7
Whereabouts on Census night
Write 'here' for persons who spent Census night at this address, whether they live here or not. You should also enter 'here' for a person who usually lives in your household but who was out on night work on Census night.
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If the person was elsewhere in the lsland of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega or St. Brandon write 'elsewhere in Mauritius'. If the person was not in the Island of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega or St. Brandon, write 'outside Mauritius'.
Column 8
Usual address
If the person usually lives at this address write 'here' even if he or she was away on Census night, for example, on night work, on a business trip, on vacation, in hospital, studying abroad, or staying temporarily with relatives.
If the person does not usually live at this address, write his or her usual address, specifying the Municipal Council Ward or Village Council Area where possible.
For persons on visit to Mauritius, write only the country of permanent residence of the person. However, for non-Mauritians working in Mauritius and their families, write the usual address in Mauritius or Rodrigues.
If a person has more than one usual address, write the address of his or her principal residence.
Column 9
Citizenship
Write as appropriate:
MR (Mauritian by registration) for any Commonwealth citizen who has been registered as a citizen of Mauritius.
MN (Mauritian by naturalization) for any person, other than a Commonwealth citizen, who has become a citizen of Mauritius by naturalization.
If a person is not a Mauritian citizen, specify the country of which he or she is a citizen.
Stop at column 9 for non-Mauritians usually residing outside Mauritius.
Column 10
Usual address 5 years ago
If the person's usual address 5 years ago (i.e. on 1.7.85) was the same as that entered in column 8, write 'yes'. If not, write the person's usual address on 1.7.85, specifying the Municipal Council Ward or Village Council Area where possible.
For children now under 5 years of age, write 'Not born·.
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Column 11
Disability
Write 'yes' if the person has any long-term disability or handicap which limit his/her participation in individual and/or social activities which are considered normal for a person of his/her age, Also describe the disabilities using the abbreviations given in column 11 of the Census form.
A long-term disability or handicap is one that has lasted or is expected to last for six months or more.
If the person has no long-term disability or handicap, write 'no'.
Column 12
Marital status
Write as appropriate:
D - for a person who has legally obtained a divorce and has not remarried.
SEP - for a person who is living separately from his wife (or her husband) provided that no divorce has been obtained.
MRC - for a person who is currently married both religiously and civilly.
MR - for a person who is currently married religiously only.
MC- for a person who is currently married civilly only.
C - for a person who is living in a free union with another, without being married religiously or civilly.
S - for a person who has never been married religiously or civilly and has never lived in a free union.
UM - for persons who do not fall in any of the above categories.
Please note that widowed (W) and separated (SEP) can apply to a person who had been previously married, either civilly or religiously, and also to a person who had been in a free union. However, divorced (D) can apply only to a person who had been married civilly, or civilly as well as religiously.
Columns 13 to 15 are for persons reported as not single in column 12
Column 13
Age at first marriage
For every person, male or female, who is not single in column 12, write the age, in completed years. at which he or she got married for the first time. Marriage includes civil and religious marriage as well as free union. For example, if a person started living in a free union at the age of 25 years, got civilly married at the age of 28 years 5 months, and then married religiously at the age of 28 years 7 months, write 25 years.
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Similarly, if a person first married at the age of 20 years, obtained a divorce at 30 years, and then married again two years later, write 20 years.
Column 14
Whether married more than once
For every person, male or female, who is not single in column 12, and who has been married more than once. Write 'yes'. For those married only once, write 'no'.
A person married religiously on one date and civilly on another is considered to have been married once only provided it is to the same partner.
Column 15
Number of children ever born
For every woman who is not sing1e in column 12, write the number of children that were ever born to her. Count all 1ive born children, whether born of the present or previous marriages or free unions, including those who may have died since birth and those who may not be living with her any more. Do not count stillbirths and do not include step-children and adopted children.
lf she has never had a live born child, write 'nil'.
Column 16
Religion
State the religion to which the person claims to belong. If he or she does not have a religion, write 'none'.
For infants and children, write the religion in which their parents intend to raise them.
Column 17
Linguistic group
Write the language spoken by the person's forefathers. It does not matter whether the person himself (herself) speaks the language or not.
If the language of the paternal forefathers is different from that of the maternal forefathers, write both.
Consider creole and bhojpuri as languages
Column 18
Language usually spoken
Insert the language usually or most often spoken by the person in his/her home. For children not yet able to speak, write the language spoken by the mother.
For a person who cannot speak, write the language usually spoken in the person's home.
Consider creole and bhojpuri as languages.
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Stop at column 18 for children under 2 years of age
Note that columns 19-21 are for persons aged 2 years and over
Column 19
Languages read and written
State the language(s) in which the person can, with understanding, both read and write a simple statement in his or her everyday life. Do not include a language in which the person can read and write only his (her) name, figures, and memorized phrases.
Consider creole and bhojpuri as languages.
Write 'None' for persons (including children) who cannot read and write any language.
Column 20
School attendance
For every person aged 2 years and above, write as appropriate:
Past - for a person who has attended school, college, university, vocational or technical school in the past.
Never - for a person who has never attended school, even if he or she has obtained educational qualifications.
Column 21
Primary and secondary education
Please note that this column refers only to primary and secondary education. Tertiary education is reported in columns 22a and 22b, whilst vocational and technical training are reported in columns 23a and 23b.
If the person is now attending primary or secondary school, write the standard or form being attended. For children attending preprimary school, write 'Preprimary'.
(ii) For persons reported 'past in column 20:
If the person has attended primary or primary and secondary school in the past, write the highest standard or torrri completed or the highest certificate obtained, if any.
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For a person who has completed only the primary cycle, write 'CPE' or 'PSLC' if he has in fact passed the Primary School Leaving Certificate; if not, write 'Std VI'.
For a person who has completed Form V or an equivalent level, write 'SC' or 'GCE. (OL)' or 'BEPC' only if he/she has obtained the relevant Certificate; if not, write 'Form v·.
For a person who has studied up to the Higher School Certificate or equivalent level, write 'HSC', or 'GCE (AL)', etc. only if the person has obtained the relevant certificate; if not, write 'Form VI'.
If the person has never attended school, write 'NIL'. However, if the person has studied privately or by correspondence, then report the equivalent level of primary or secondary education completed or the highest primary or secondary school certificate obtained.
Column 22a
Duration of tertiary education
For every person aged 12 years or over, write the total number of months of schooling or training which he/she has received in universities. Include also the number or months spent ln postsecondary institutions offering courses similar to University courses, for example, professional programs in engineering, accountancy, law, pharmacy, or computer science.
Any training received at the postsecondary level should be counted as tertiary education, for example, diploma or PGCE course in teacher training at the Mauritius Institute of Education. However, training courses below the tertiary (or university) level should be included in columns 23a and 23b; for example, a certificate course in teacher training for primary school teachers, or a certificate course in nursing for student nurses, are not of a post-secondary level and should be reported in columns 23a and 23b.
If the person is now receiving tertiary education, insert the duration up to now; do not insert the total number of months during which the course is going to last.
lf the person received tertiary education by correspondence, or through private or part-time study, please convert the accumulated training to the equivalent number of months in the full-time regular program.
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Please note that the duration is to be reported in months. For full-time regular courses, consider one academic year as equivalent to 12 months, even though the actual training during the year may have been for somewhat less than 12 months.
If the person has had no training in universities or similar postsecondary institutions, write 'nil'. Write 'nil' also for persons who are too young to go to university. Do not leave the space blank.
Column 22b
Highest post-secondary qualification
Insert the highest post-secondary degree, certificate or diploma received by the person, as well as the corresponding major field(s) of study.
If the person has more than one degree and you have difficulty in deciding which is the highest, insert the one which was obtained most recently.
If the person does not hold any post-secondary degree, certificate or diploma, write 'None', even if he/she has been to a university or other post-secondary Institution.
Write 'none' also for a person who is now following a post-secondary course but does not yet have a post-secondary degree, certificate or diploma; do not insert the name of the course he/she is following.
Column 23a
Duration of vocational and technical training
Indicate the total number of months of training which the person has followed outside the regular primary, secondary and tertiary institutions; for example, in private or public vocational and technical schools, secretarial and business colleges, institutes of technology, etc. Include also trade, craft, industrial and home economics courses as well as in-service or pre-service courses.
Vocational and technical courses below the tertiary (or university) level should also be included in this column even if they have been followed at a university.
If the course followed was part-time, please convert the accumulated training to the equivalent number of months required on a full-time basis.
If the person has never received any vocational or technical training, write 'Nil'. Do not leave the space blank.
Column 23b
Highest vocational or technical qualification
Insert the highest vocational or technical degree, certificate, or diploma received by the person and the major field of study covered.
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If the person has followed a technical or vocational course which does not lead to a certificate, insert only the field of study.
If the person has not received any technical or vocational training, write 'none'.
Column 24
Hours worked during the past week
For the purposes of the Census, work is defined as any work except volunteer work and housework in the person's own home. It includes:
(ii) work done for payment in kind, e.g. services rendered by a member of a religious order who is provided with lodging or food or other supplies;
(iii) work done by a self-employed person (alone or in partnership} in his/her own enterprise, trade, business, farm or professional practice, whether alone or with employees;
(iv) work done without pay in a family enterprise, plantation or farm owned by a member of the same household or another relative;
(v) work done by apprentices, whether paid or unpaid.
For every person aged 12 years or over, indicate the number of hours worked for pay, profit or fami1y gain during the past week, from Monday 25 June to Sunday l July. You should include any time spent on activities such as shopkeeping; growing vegetables, or other crops; livestock or poultry keeping; fishing; making and repairing fishing boats, nets and basket traps; curing and preserving fish and octopus; making baskets, hats, mats and bags; making handicraft products; preparing food products like 'dholl puree' for sale; construction and repair of own dwelling and buildings used for agricultural, commercial and industrial purposes; keeping tea shops; street vending, etc.
Insert the actual number of hours worked by the person, irrespective of whether it is less or more than his/her normal hours of work per week. If the person did not work during the past week for any reason whatsoever, or if he/she worked for less than one hour, write '00'.
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If the person did several kinds of work, Insert the total number of hours worked at all jobs. For example, if, during the past week, a person worked for 36 hours as teacher, 6 hours giving private tuition, and another 7 hours assisting in the family shop, write '49 hours'.
Report also the number of hours, if any, worked during the past week, by a student, an old age pensioner or a worker retired from a previous employment.
Skip to column 29 if person worked for one or more hours
Column 25
With job but not worked
This question asks whether there was a job, business, family enterprise, plantation or farm at which the person did not work last week because of illness, injury, holiday, industrial dispute, offseason inactivity or temporary disorganization.
If the person did not hold a job last week, write 'no'.
Column 26
Job search
Write 'Yes' if the person took any active steps to look for work any time during the past 8 weeks; e.g., If he/she checked with employers or at private homes, factories and worksites, placed or answered job advertisements, sought assistance and advice to set up his/her own enterprise, maintained registration with an Employment Exchange, etc.
If the person did not take any active steps to look for work, write 'no'.
Column 27
Availability for work
If the person was available for work during the past week, write 'yes'.
If the person was not available for work, write 'no' and give the reason as follows:
ST - for a person who was studying.
DIS - for a person who was sick, injured or disabled.
WR - for a wholly retired person.
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Other - for a person who was not available for work because of other reasons; details should be given, e.g. person was a rentier, or a child not going to school and too young to work.
Column 28
When last worked
If the person has worked before, write the number of months that have elapsed since he/she last worked even for a few days.
If the person has never worked, write 'never'.
Stop at this column [28] if person has never worked. Columns 29 to 34 are for persons who have ever worked. Information is required on the person's work during the past week. If person had more than one job last week, answer for the job at which he/she worked the most hours, if person had no job last week, answer for his/her last job.
Column 29
Name and type of establishment
Write the name of the establishment, factory, firm, government ministry, municipal or district council, parastatal body, cooperative enterprise, etc., for which the person worked, including details of branch, division, department, etc. Please do not use abbreviations.
If the person was self-employed, write the name of his/her business, shop, agency, etc. · If the business does not have a name, write the person's own name.
If the person worked as an employee in a private household (e.g. as cook, driver, watchman, gardener, laundress, maidservant, etc.), write 'Private household'.
Column 30
Kind of business, industry or service
Give a complete description of the kind of business, industry or service which was being carried on at the place where the person worked. Do not use vague terms such as agriculture, repairs, factory, school, shop, etc. Give a complete description: for example, sugarcane cultivation, tea cultivation, anthurium plantation; car repairing, bicycle repairing; sugar factory; pullover knitting factory, manufacture of knitted gloves, cutting and sewing underwear, primary school; household furniture or appliances shop, groceries retailer, victualer; etc. Do not hesitate to use creo1e terms if necessary.
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If more than one activity were carried out at the place where the person worked, describe the business, industry or service in which the person's main occupation was performed. For example, if the establishment was engaged in both sugar cane and anthurium cultivation, and the person worked in connection with the anthurium cultivation, write 'anthurium cultivation'.
For persons in Government service, do not write 'Government service', but describe the activity carried out by the office or department where the person worked: for example, administration, collection of statistics, police, livestock breeding, plant nursery, agricultural research station, manufacture of wooden furniture, printing, road construction, primary education, health services, sewage services, etc.
Do not forget to describe the kind of business or service in the case of persons who were self-employed or who worked in their own homes; for example, dressmaking, tailoring, curing of fish, basket making, cattle keeping, preparation of foodstuffs for sale, sale of vegetables, taxi service, etc.
For a person who worked as employee in a private household (e.g. as cook, driver, watchman, gardener, laundress, maidservant, etc.), write 'Household service'. But note that if the person worked as a driver or watchman or gardener etc. in an establishment, or in connection with the professional activities of a self-employed person then you should describe the activity of the establishment or of the self-employed person.
Column 31
Place of work
Give the full address of the person's place of work, specifying the Village Council Area or Municipal Council Ward where possible. Please note that the place of work may not be the head office of the establishment for which the person worked. For example, if a person employed by the Ministry of Social Security was posted in Bambous, write 'Bambous'.
For persons who worked in their own home, write 'At home'. However, if a person worked in the home of his/her employer, give the address of the employer.
If the person had no usual place of work, then give the address of the depot, garage, taxi stand, firm, etc. where the person reported for work.
For street vendors, door to door salesperson, etc., give the Village Council Area, Municipal Council Ward or locality where they worked the most.
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Column 32
Occupation
Describe as clearly and as precisely as possible the work which the person was doing. Do not describe the job for which the person has been trained, but the job which he was actually doing. For example, if a lorry driver worked as a bricklayer, write 'bricklayer'.
Do not use vague terms such as clerk, driver, factory worker, supervisor, repair technician, teacher, etc. Use precise terms such as filing clerk, accounts clerk, bus driver, bus conductor, taxi car driver, lorry driver, cabinet maker, supervisor of sewing machine operators, supervisor of road repair workers, car repair mechanic, television repair technician, telephone operator, primary school teacher, etc.
For members of religious orders engaged in activities such as primary school teaching, nursing, etc., you should report these activities rather than their religious activity.
Do not hesitate to use creole terms, if necessary, to describe an occupation.
Column 33
Employment status
Insert as appropriate:
SEW - for a self-employed person operating, alone or in partnership, his/her own business, trade, enterprise, farm or professional practice, without the help of paid employees.
FW - for a person who worked without pay in a business, trade, enterprise or farm operated by a member of the same household or another relative. If the person worked for pay, he should be reported as EM or EO as described below.
A - for an apprentice with or without pay.
EM - for an employee paid by the month.
EO - for an employee paid by day, week, fortnight or by the job, even if payment was made at the end of the month. Write EO also for persons who worked for commissions, payments on a piece rate basis or for payments in kind.
Other - for a person whose employment status does not fall in any of the above categories; give a full description in such cases.
Column 34
Length of service with employer
For persons who held a job last week, state the number of completed years they have worked for their present employer. For persons who had no job last week, state the number of completed years they worked for their most recent employer.
For self-employed persons, give the period during which they were self-employed. For persons who worked without pay for a member of the same household or another relative, give the period during which they have operated as unpaid family workers.
If the person worked for less than a year, give the number of completed months. If the period was less than a month, write 'Less than a month'.
Please specify 'years' or 'months' as appropriate; for example. If length of service was 9 years, write '9 years' and not just '9'.
Note that it is the length of service with the employer that is required, and not the time during which the person worked at his/her job.
Thus, for persons in public service, give the total length of service and not the time spent in their present grade or post.
Approved leaves should be included when counting the length of service.
If the person had a work interruption implying a breach of contract with his/her employer, or a resignation from his/her job, then count the length of service from the date of re-employment.
Columns 35 to 37 refer to the main activity status of the person from January to December 1989.
Column 35
Main activity status during 1989
Insert as appropriate:
H - if the person was engaged in household duties in his/her own home.
S - if the person was studying.
R - if the person was wholly retired and not working.
Other - for a person not falling in the above categories; in such a case, specify the activity.
Main activity status means the activity in which the person was engaged for at least half of the year (26 weeks), whether intermittently or continuously. Thus, if a person worked for 12 weeks and was wholly retired for 36 weeks, write 'R'.
If a person had more than one activity status, and each lasted for less than 26 weeks, give the activity status of longest duration. For example, if a person was at school (category S) for 16 weeks, was engaged in household duties (category H) for 12 weeks, was looking for a job (category EA) for 8 weeks, and worked (category EA) for 12 weeks, then write 'EA'. Note that working and looking for work are counted together, so that the total duration is 8 + 12 = 20 weeks.
Column 36
Weeks of work during 1989
Write the number of weeks the person worked during 1989. Count all work done for pay, profit and family gain, whether with one or several employers, and also all work done on a casual, intermittent or continuous basis. Periods of approved leave should also be counted.
Count as a week any week during which the person worked even for 1 hour.
Column 37
Duration of unemployment during 1989
Write the number at weeks in 1989 during which the person was unemployed, i.e. looking for work and available for work. Count all periods of unemployment which occurred during the year.
[The rest of the document, which includes the instructions to chief enumerators for the housing census, is omitted.]