Box C: Number of Households
Question 13: Sir (Madam): How many groups of people (households) cook separately in this dwelling?
- Read the question clearly and slowly, wait for the answer, and then write the number corresponding to the total number of households in the dwelling in the appropriate box. Read this question to the head of household. The head of household is the person who is recognized as such by other members of the household and who lives permanently in the dwelling.
- If the respondent answers that there is only one group of people, or that only one person lives there, write "1" in the appropriate box.
- If there is a person or group of persons in the household who cook their food separately, consider each group as a household.
Household A household is a person or group of persons, related or not, who occupy all or part of a dwelling. They share at least the main meals and provide for their other basic needs from a common budget.
[p. 20]
Box 14: Household Number
If there are several households in the dwelling, ask the respondent which of them is the main household. The other households will be called secondary households.
In box 14, "Household Number", write the name of the household which you are currently enumerating. The main household will always be household number 1.
Example: If there are 3 households in a dwelling, the correct way to write the information is as follows:
14. Household Number: 1
Census form of the first household (main household)
14. Household Number: 2
Census form of the second household (secondary household)
14. Household Number: 3
Census form of the third household (secondary household)
Private Dwelling with a Single Household:
Luis, his wife Elena, their son Luis, and their niece Maria occupy the same dwelling and share food expenses.
Juan, his wife Ana, and their children, Pedro and Sara, share the same dwelling and food expenses (common budget) with Alex's family: his wife Ida and their 2 children, Alex and Ada.
[p. 21]
Individual Dwelling with Two Households
Example 1: Jose, his wife Angela, and their daughter Mia eat together. Jose pays for the food and Angela cooks.
Jose has given a room to Raquel, his childhood friend, and she buys her own food and cooks separately for herself and her young son, Denis.
Example 2: Adan, his wife Eva, and their children Rita and Kike eat together. Adan pays for the food.
Sofia, Adan's daughter, and her husband, Rene, have separate expenses and eat on their own.
Private Dwelling with Three Households
Jonas, his wife Lili, and their son Rony eat together. Jonas pays for the food for all three of them.
Rosa rents a room from Jonas and eats separately. She pays for her own food.
Levi, Jonas' nephew, is a teacher, and eats separately from the rest of the people in the dwelling. He pays for his own food.
Example of Dwelling and Household
Let's look at the following graphic, which shows three groups of people who occupy a dwelling and cook their food separately.
[Below there is a drawing showing each of the three groupings in separate rooms.]
The first group, household A, occupies most of the rooms (dining room and 2 bedrooms) of the house and access the street directly from their [dining] room.
The second group, household B, occupies one room in the dwelling, given by household A, and goes through household A's dining room to get to the street.
The third group, household C, occupies a room which they rent from household A and goes through household A's dining room to get to the street.
To summarize, there are 3 households in this dwelling.
[p. 22]
A Dwelling with More Than One Household
In cases where there is more than one household in a dwelling, use one census form per household. The instructions for filling out the census form for the main and secondary households are as follows:
Form for the Main Household:
1. Fill out the "Dwelling Number" box.
2. Fill out all the questions in the first section: "Localization of the Dwelling and Number of Households."
3. Fill out all the questions in the second section: "Household Characteristics and Services."
4. Fill out all the questions in the following sections:
- Third section: Household Characteristics
- Fourth section: Household Makeup
- Fifth section: Population Characteristics
- At the end of the interview fill out the "Enumeration Summary" box with the appropriate information.
Form for the Secondary Household(s):
1. In the "Dwelling Number" box for the secondary household, copy the dwelling number from the main household's census form.
2. Copy the information from the first section of the main dwelling, "Household Localization and Number of Households," up to question 13. In question 14 write the number of the household you are enumerating.
3. In the second section, leave blank the questions from the second section, "Dwelling Characteristics and Services."
4. Fill out all the questions in the following sections:
- Third section: Household Characteristics
- Fourth section: Household Makeup
- Fifth section: Population Characteristics
- At the end of the interview fill out the "Enumeration Summary" box with the appropriate information.
Example: There are two households in the dwelling of Dominga Suarez López. Her household is the main household and is made up of two persons. The secondary household is made up of three persons: Ana Gonzales Piu and 2 colleagues from work.
Use a census form for the main household and another census form for the secondary household.
[Page 23 not presented here, it includes instructions for the enumerator on how to fill out Census forms for a dwelling with more than one household]