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Historical Censuses; Numbers from the Dutch

Historical Censuses; Numbers from the Dutch. Providing access to the Dutch Population census of 1971 drs. L.J.G. Schreven. Structure. Censuses in the Netherlands A very short history Digitising the 1971 census Approach, difficulties and solutions and state of affairs

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Historical Censuses; Numbers from the Dutch

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  1. Historical Censuses; Numbers from the Dutch Providing access to the Dutch Population census of 1971 drs. L.J.G. Schreven

  2. Structure • Censuses in the Netherlands A very short history • Digitising the 1971 census Approach, difficulties and solutions and state of affairs • Census digitisation projects in the Netherlands Different projects in past, present and future

  3. Censuses in the Netherlands A very short history

  4. Censuses 1795 – 1889

  5. Censuses 1899 – 1971

  6. Main census objectives • To determine the size of the population on a fixed point in time (statistic objective) • To prove the reliability of the population registers (administrative objective) • To examine the demographic and social-economic characteristics of the population (social objective)

  7. The end of an era • In 1971 the last general census was held. Why? Unwilling population! • Causes: • Deep scars left by World War 2 • Fear for an all-knowing government (Big Brother) • Fear for computerised data on the whole society • Consequences: • Public protest against the census • Media attention to all issues concerning privacy policy • Political pressure on Statistics Netherlands

  8. Results • A new law concerning privacy was passed in 1970 • This delayed the census until 1971. • Still there were some people unwilling to cooperate Opposition against censuses: 1960 2 (absolute figure) unwilling citizens 1971 .2 percent unwilling (about 25.000) 1980 A census test showed an average unwillingness of 26 percent. In big urban areas this rose to almost 60 percent 1981 census was first postponed, later it was cancelled

  9. Register counts supplemented by random sample surveys. After 1971

  10. (dis)advantages • Disadvantages: regional splitting of data is impossible • Advantages: costs are down and results are faster available

  11. Summary • Decennial censuses between 1829 and 1971 • Privacy controversy leads to cancelling 1981 census • Censuses are replaced by register counts and surveys • Detailed annual statistics are introduced from the early nineties

  12. Digitising the 1971 census Approach, difficulties and solutions and state of affairs

  13. Approach • Detailed description of the data • Researching different methods of availability of data (and documentation) • Manufacturing a test data file • Researching the statistical security of data • Preparing the digital archiving of data

  14. Difficulties • Very soon after the project got underway data problems were discovered. • Data were incomplete • Missing labels • Missing cases • Data were false • ‘Impossible’ data

  15. Solutions • Missing labels: scanning – editing – reentering • Missing cases: recovering ‘ancient’ data by going back to the source • Impossible data: reestablishing corrupt data

  16. Metadata and documentation • Metadata in (D)DDI • Documentation in Portable Document Format (PDF)

  17. Data availability: Remote Execution • The data are rendered available in cooperation with Statistics Netherlands. • Privacy issues restrict availability, therefore we decided to use Remote Execution. • To facilitate Remote Execution a test data file was constructed, which had to be secured.

  18. State of affairs • On schedule • June to September; detailed descriptions of both the data and the documentation • Updating the website (www.volkstellingen.nl) • GIS component

  19. Neighbourhood in Focus

  20. Statline Cartographic

  21. Summary • Difficulties with data were overcome • Metadata and documentation are collected • A test data file was constructed to facilitate Remote Execution • The website will be updated • Applications for regional analyses of the data will be available through Statistics Netherlands

  22. Census projects; past, present and future • Past: Centennial census project (1899-1999) • Present: Digitising fund Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) (1795-1859, 1930, 1960 and 1971) • Future: Life Courses in Context (1869-1989, 1909, 1920 and 1947)

  23. Even more in the future? • In 2005, all general population censuses will be available • More in the future? NIWI hopes to participate in IPUMS-Europe.

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