[Section II was answered for all persons who selected living in occupied housing units in question I15]

P05. Age

Columns (P01) to (P20) -- These should provide particulars of all persons who slept in the household on census night. The questions therefore apply to all persons irrespective of age or sex, except P13 which applies to persons 5 years and above.

Column (P05) -- Age
91. This is one of the most important questions in the questionnaire. It is also one of the most difficult to answer correctly. Take particular care with it.

92. Ask, "How old is this person?"

• If the age is not known, ask for the year of birth. If this is provided, use it to get the person's age.

• Record the age of the person in completed years; i.e. age as at last birthday. (For example, a person aged 26 years and four months should be entered as "26".

• For children under one year of age write "0". For example, a child aged 11 months should be entered as "0".)

• For persons 120 years old and above write '120'.

93. Many people will not know their ages. If neither the person's age nor the year of birth is known, you must refer to the "Events Calendar" and try to relate the person's age to an event in the calendar. For example, ask the person what time linked to the event calendar he/she was born. If he/she says by the time of Rebel incursion in Sierra Leone (March 1991), then probe further and ask, 'how big were you at that time'? This way, his/her age will be estimated. Note you may not know the exact month and day; hence, it is an estimate.

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94.When you have made the best estimate you can, you should check that it is compatible with the person's position in the family. (For example, a child cannot be older than his/her father; a mother aged 22 cannot have a child aged 14, and a woman aged over 50 is unlikely to have a child aged '0').

95. Some people have fixed and wrong ideas about their ages. Do not accept any answers that are obviously wrong. Try and get accurate answers. Be careful to probe if you observe a tendency for people to consistently give ages ending in digits 0 and 5.

96. Note that question on Age also applies to the Special Population Questionnaire. Write the age of all persons who spent census night in institutions.