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Census of Population and Housing -1971

Sri Lanka, 1970 - 1971
Reference ID
LKA-DCS-CPH-1971-v1.0
Producer(s)
Department of Census and Statistics, ,
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Jan 18, 2023
Last modified
Jan 18, 2023
Page views
5441
Downloads
947
  • Study Description
  • Data Dictionary
  • Downloads
  • Get Microdata
  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Data Collection
  • Questionnaires
  • Data Processing
  • Access policy
  • Disclaimer and copyrights
  • Metadata production

Identification

Survey ID Number
LKA-DCS-CPH-1971-v1.0
Title
Census of Population and Housing -1971
Country
Name Country code
SRI LANKA LKA
Study type
Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]
Series Information
Sri Lanka has a long history of census taking. The first scientific census was conducted in 1871. Since then censuses have been conducted once in ten years with certain exceptions. The 1971 Census of Population is particularly significant in the history of regular census taking in Sri Lanka in that it is the century year of population censuses. The census was conducted on the 9th of October 1971 and it was the 11th of the series. The previous census was conducted in 1963. The census 1971 is significant for two reasons. Firstly it was taken one hundred years after the first census. Secondly it reverts to the tradition of taking the census in the year ending in 1 which had been maintained until 1931. It is hoped that this tradition and the decennial interval could be maintained in the future.
Abstract
A Census of Population and Housing is the single most extensive statistical undertaking of a country. In order to plan and implement programmes and activities, statistics are needed by the Government administrators of various levels, private users, research organizations and the general public.

The 1971 Census was conducted under the Census Ordinance N0. 9 of 1900. (Chapter 143) According to that it shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time by order published in the Gazette, to direct that a census be taken of the population, agriculture (including animal husbandry ) trade, labour, industry or commerce or such other matters as he may deem necessary for ascertaining the social, civil or economic conditions of the inhabitants of Ceylon. The CPH 1971 has been designed to collect various information about the characteristics of the population and the households in Sri Lanka.

The CHP1971 provides

a. Reliable and detailed benchmark statistics on the size, distribution and composition of population.

b. Information pertaining to the characteristics of the housing units.

c. Information on the characteristics of the households
Kind of Data
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Unit of Analysis
(1) Individuals
(2) Households

Version

Version Description
v1.0: Full edited dataset, original version for internal DPD use.
Version Date
2009-03-23

Scope

Notes
In CPH1971, two types of schedules were used to collect information. The population schedule and the housing schedule.

The scope of CPH 1971 includes the following :-

(a) Information on population
(b) Information on household

(a) Information on population
- Name
- Relationship to head of household
- Sex
- Date of birth
- Marital status
- Religion
- Ethnic group
- Citizenship
- Literacy
- Attendance at school or other educational institution
- Educational attainment
- Type of activity
- Principal occupation
- Kind of industry
- Employment status
- Whether actually at work
- Whether actively seeking work

(b) Information on household
- Description of unit
- Is the unit occupied or vacant
- Type of structure
- Principal material of outer wall
- Principal material of roof
- Principal material of floor
- Year of construction of unit
Information of housing unit
- Water supply
- Bathing facilities
- Toilet facilities
- Principal type of lighting
- Number of rooms
- Floor space
- Cooking facilities
- Tenure
- Rent
- Number of families and persons occupying unit
- Number of households in the unit
Topics
Topic Vocabulary URI
employment [3.1] CESSDA Link
compulsory and pre-school education [6.2] CESSDA Link
housing [10.1] CESSDA Link
censuses [14.1] CESSDA Link
migration [14.3] CESSDA Link

Coverage

Geographic Coverage
National coverage
Universe
CPH 1971 covered all residents in each household and all units in each census block.

Population census did not cover diplomats.

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators
Name Affiliation
Department of Census and Statistics Ministry of Finance and Planning
Funding Agency/Sponsor
Name Abbreviation
Government of Sri Lanka GOSL

Data Collection

Dates of Data Collection
Start End Cycle
1970-01 1970-07 First Pilot Census
1970-12 1971-10-09 Second Pilot Census
1971-10-09 Final Census ( 5 P.M. to 11 P. M.)
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Supervision
A number of Census Blocks grouped together according to contiguity and compactness formed a Census Circle, each of which was placed in charge of a Supervisor. Only persons possessing administrative capacity and of high integrity and education were chosen as Supervisors. Generally, government or local government officers of intermediate grades were so appointed. The supervisor was responsible for the supervision of the census arrangements and the work of the census enumeration within his circle.
Data Collection Notes
Training classes
Training classes were organized for the Census Supervisors and for the large number of enumerators. A few Master Trainers drawn from the permanent cadre of Statisticians and Statistical Officers of the Department were first given training on the various aspects of the Census work. These Master Trainers were then sent to the various districts to impart the necessary training to Supervisors. Each Supervisor in turn conducted a training class for the Enumerators assigned to his circle. Training classes for Supervisors were held during the period 16-31st August 1971. The training of Enumerators was carried out during the first two weeks of September 1971.

Training
The training of the Census staff was a three tiered process. In the first tier, the master trainers were trained. They were the senior officers of the DCS in the ranks from Statisticians to Deputy Directors.
The second tier was the training of the trainers by the master trainers. The trainers were the statistical officers of the DCS and who were entrusted with the task of training all supervisors and enumerators. The third tier was the training of supervisors and about 120,000 strong army of enumerators.

The census was carried out in 4 stages,

Stage-1) Mapping Operation - (From January to December 2000) GN divisions (Grama Niladhari) are the lowest administrative units in the country. To avoid omissions or duplications of building units or any individuals GN maps were drawn with clear boundaries. As the GN divisions are too large to handle in a census operation they were subdivided into smaller area units called the 'Census Block'. Around 60 housing units and /or other building units in the rural sector and around 80 housing units and/or other building units in the urban sector comprised a census block. In the mapping operation the census block maps were also marked in the GN division maps.

Stage-2) Listing Operation (February and March 2001)
Based on the maps prepared, a building unit or part of a building unit is identified and categorized as follows:
(1) Housing Unit
(2) Collective living quarter
(3) Institution
(4) Non-housing unit
All of the above categories were listed in a Pre-Listing Form (F1) during the listing operation together with additional information such as number of residents, whether there is agricultural activity or a business is going on and so forth. This list with additional information would provide the basic frame for the censuses and various surveys, which will be conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, during the next ten years.

Stage-3) Preliminary Census (From 25th June to 5th July 2001)
In this stage, the enumerators collected information pertaining to every individual who usually live in the household using the Population and Housing Schedule. Each 'Census Block' was assigned to an enumerator. There were around 120,000 enumerators throughout the country. In addition to the population data, information on housing and household were also collected from each housing unit and collective living quarter on a 100 percent basis.
At the time of recording a persons' individual information to the 'Population and Housing Schedule (F3)', if a physically or mentally disabled person were found in the household, enumerator completed 'Schedule for Disabled Persons(F4)' for that person after completing population and housing schedule for the household.

Stage-4) The Final Census (17th July 2001, 6.00 p.m. to 12.00 mid night)
The time of census taking was adjusted in certain areas depending on the prevailing ground situation in that area. The referred date for the final census is the final date and all information relating to each individual was collected from 6.00 pm on the 17th July 2001.

The final census enumeration was carried out as a direct check on the persons enumerated in the preliminary census, in order to ensure that no person is missed or enumerated more than once. In particular a person found in any unit is classified into:
1). A usual resident and actually present
2). A usual resident but temporarily absent (excluding those who were abroad)
3). A household member but currently abroad
4). A non-usual resident but temporarily present on the census night.
If the enumerator finds a person in a household belonging to a category (4), then his/her particulars are recorded in the census schedule pertaining to that household.

Special arrangements were made to enumerate people staying outdoors on the final census night. Places like barracks/camps of forces, hospitals, large hostels etc. were covered by officers selected for the purpose from their own places.

The method of enumeration was “de facto” basis.
Data Collectors

Questionnaires

Questionnaires
A main area for the advance preparations for the 1971 Census was the redesigning of Population and Housing schedules in order to minimize the time required for coding the data. One of the reasons for the delay in tabulation of information from the earlier censuses particularly the 1953 and 1963 censuses was the inordinately long time taken at the Head Office to code the information before punching the information on cards. With a view to avoiding such delays it was decided to have as much of the coding as possible done in the field itself by the enumerators. Topics such as Sex, Marital Status, Religion, Ethnic Group etc; which consist of a few well defined categories could be easily entered on the schedules in the form of codes. A schedule designed for the purpose of was tested at the first Pilot Census. In this schedule, however, the codes for each category were shown at the bottom of the schedule and hence the enumerator had to frequently shift his eyes up and down between the cage in which the entry was to be made and the section at the bottom of the schedule showing the codes. This proved to be the somewhat strenuous and time consuming. Some of the codes were easily remembered by the enumerator e.g. Male 1, Female 2. But in the case of other items like Ethnic Group & Marital Status which contain more than 4 or 5 categories, the possibility of some mixing up of codes existed, leading to inaccuracy. On the basis of experience of the first Pilot Census, the schedule was redesigned and the codes were shown against the question in respect of which answers were sought from the respondents and the enumerators required to indicate the answers by circling the appropriate code. This layout of the schedule eliminated errors resulting from marking of a wrong code which was possible in the case of schedules used at the first Pilot Census.

A similar procedure, however, could not be adopted in respect of such topic as educational attainment, occupation and industry, in respect of which the number of possible entries were quite large. In these cases the enumerator wrote down the answers and the coding was done later, in the office, by specially trained coding staff. The Housing schedule was also designed on the same basis.

The schedule which contained the item in respect of which information was collected from all persons in the country was called the Population Schedule (General) and was printed on white paper to distinguish it from the Population Schedule (Special) printed on pink paper. The Population Schedule (Special) contained in addition to those on the Population Schedule (General) items which were to be collected from a sample only. The Housing Schedule was printed on blue paper.

Data Processing

Data Editing
The Census Schedules, on receipt in the Head Office, were checked for any possible shortages and then edited and coded where necessary by specially trained staff, prior to being passed on to the Data Processing Division, for punching and tabulation.

Computer Editing
Before the punched cards were transferred to the computer room for processing, certain manual checks for control figures and sight checks were carried out administrative regions. A comprehensive editing procedure was done on the computer. The computer program which checked the records comprised of five basic edits.
They were :
1. Checking to ensure that all data was numeric
2. Checking the validity of numerical codes entered for descriptive data
3. Checking the range of codes
4. Checking the consistency of related data
5. Checking and imputation of a limited amount of data for omissions.

Editing to ensure that all data was numeric enabled the detection of errors occurring due to punching and verifying machine faults. All the other edits provided a complete check for validity and consistency of the records. Only records which satisfied all edit checks were written on tape while the error records were appropriately printed by districts. These error lists were referred to the appropriate division for correction. The corrected records were re-punched and passed through the edit program again. This procedure was adopted for each district until no errors were printed. At the commencement of processing 4 error lists for each district were referred back, but with experience gained in the correction of error lists, the reference was cut down to two lists
Other Processing
It was in respect of the 1971 Population Census that an electronic computer was used for the first time in Sri Lanka to process census data. As IBM System/360 Model 25 installed in 1970 was inadequate, the system was enlarged in 1972 to cope with the voluminous work involved.

Data Preparation
Work on punching and verifying commenced in August 1972. Twenty IBM 024 punchers and nineteen IBM 056 verifiers were used for punching and verifying over 12 million cards. Verifying was done on a quality control basis and averaged about 10 percent to 25 percent of the records. For 17 months machines were used on a double shift. The data preparation work took approximately 21 months.

Computer Processing
The basic approach of the systems design was to create sub master files for groups of tables containing variables that were required only that particular set of tables. This enable the creation of short records with subsequent advantages in processing. Processing was done at district level except for four tables where aggregations were done at D.R.O. and G.S. Division levels. The processing programs created aggregated records for each table which were updated as each district was processed. On completion of the last district the aggregated records for each table gave the all island figures which were formatted and printed. Thus the programming was in four stages.
a. Programs which created sub-masters
b. Programs which processed the data by districts and created summaries by districts.
c. Programs which processed the district summaries to create the all island summaries
d. Programs which printed out the summary figures.
In all 76 programs were written in Assembly and Report Program Generator Languages. At the beginning all programs were written in Report Program Generator Language so that the programs could be written in a short period of time. The processing time of such programs, however, was found to be too long. Hence, as the work progressed, the programs were written in Assembly Language to minimize the processing time. The processing of all data from enumerators' abstracts, ten percent sample schedules and hundred percent general schedules, was completed in approximately twenty months.

Access policy

Contacts
Name Affiliation Email URL
Director, Information Unit Department of Census and Statistics information@statistics.gov.lk http//:www.statistics.gov.lk
Census Division Department of Census and Statistics census@statistics.gov.lk http//:www.statistics.gov.lk
Confidentiality
Under the Census Ordinance, micro data cannot be released with identifications for public use. Procedures are in place to ensure that information relating to any particular individual person, household or undertaking will be kept strictly confidential and will not be divulged to external parties. Information on individual or individual Household/establishment will not be divulged or published in such a form that will facilitate the identification of any particular person or establishment as the data have been collected under the Census Ordinance, according to which the information at individual level cannot be divulged and such information is strictly confidential.
Access conditions
The dataset has been anonymized and is available as a Public Use Dataset. It is accessible to all for statistical and research purposes only, under the following terms and conditions:

1. The data and other materials will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organizations without the written agreement.

2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.

3. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently.

4. No attempt will be made to produce links among datasets provided by the Department or among data from the Department and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.

5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the Department will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.

6. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the requested data will be sent to the Department

The following rules apply to micro data released by the Department of Census and Statistics.

• Only the requests of Government Institutions, Recognized Universities, Students, and selected international agencies are entertained. However, the Data users are required to strictly adhere to
the terms stipulated in the agreement form.

• All the data requests should be made to Director General (DG) of the DCS as the sole authority of releasing data is vested with the DG of the DCS. The DCS of Sri Lanka reserves sole right to approve or reject any data request made depending on the confidential nature of the data set and intended purpose of the study or analysis.

• Requests for micro data should be made through the agreement form designed by DCS for this purpose (Form D.R.1). The agreement form should be filled in triplicate and the Study/project proposal should accompany the filled agreement form. If requests are made for the micro data of more than one survey, a separate agreement should be signed.

• If the data request is from a student a letter from the respective Dept. Head/Dean/Supervisor, recommending the issue of data, should also be accompanied.

• If the request is approved only 25% of the data file is released at the first stage. The release of the total data file is considered only after reviewing the draft report prepared on the basis of the 25% sample data file.

• The released Data file should be used only for the specific study/Analysis mentioned in the agreement form and shall not be used for any other purpose without the prior approval of the Director General of the DCS. Moreover, Copies of the micro-data file, obtained from the DCS, shall not be given to anyone else without the prior written approval of the Director General of the DCS.

• The draft report of the Study/Analysis should be submitted to the DCS and the concurrence of the DG of the DCS, should be obtained before publishing it. Once published, a copy of the final report should be submitted to the DCS.

Source : http://www.statistics.gov.lk/databases/data%20dissemination/DataDissaPolicy_2007Oct26n.pdf

[Department : The Department of Census and Statistics]
Citation requirements
"Department of Census and Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 1971, Version 1.0 of the public use dataset, March 2009, provided by the National Data Archive, Data Processing Division, www.statistics.gov.lk"
Access authority
Name Affiliation Email URL
Director General Department of Census and Statistics dgcensus@sltnet.lk http//:www.statistics.gov.lk

Disclaimer and copyrights

Disclaimer
The Department of Census and Satatistics bears no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the secondary use of the data.
Copyright
(c) 2009, Department of Census and Statistics

Metadata production

DDI Document ID
DDI-LKA-DCS-CPH-1971-v1.0
Producers
Name Abbreviation
Department of Census and Statistics DCS
Data Processing Division DPD
Date of Metadata Production
2009-03-23
DDI Document version
Version 1.0 (February 2008).
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