Historical Censuses; Numbers from the Dutch

Providing access to the Dutch Population census of 1971

drs. L.J.G. Schreven

Structure

• Censuses in the NetherlandsA very short history

•Digitising the 1971 censusApproach, difficulties and solutions and state of

affairs

• Census digitisation projects in the NetherlandsDifferent projects in past, present and future

Censuses in the Netherlands

A very short history

Censuses 1795 – 1889

Year Census

1795 1st integral Dutch population census (French rule)

1829 1st general population census (Royal Decree 1828)

1839 2nd general population census

1849 3rd general population census

1859 4th general population census

1869 5th general population census

1879 6th general population census (Census Act 1879)

1889 7th general population and occupation census

Censuses 1899 – 1971

Year Census

1899 8th general population, occupation and housing census (1st by Statistics Netherlands)

1909 9th general population, occupation and housing census

1920 10th general population, occupation and housing (1919) census

1930 11th general population, occupation and housing census

1947 12th general population, occupation and housing census

1956 Housing census

1960 13th population census

1971 14th general population, occupation and housing census (Census Act 1970)

Main census objectives

1. To determine the size of the population on a fixed point in time (statistic objective)

2. To prove the reliability of the population registers (administrative objective)

3. To examine the demographic and social-economic characteristics of the population (social objective)

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

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

After 1971Register counts supplemented by random sample surveys.

Year Method

1981 Register count of Population and housing; survey Labour force and housing needs

1991 Register count of Population; survey Labour force and housing needs

1992 and onwards Annual count of housing supply

1995 and onwards Annual count of the population structure

1998 and onwards Annual household statistic

2001 Virtual population census

(dis)advantages

Disadvantages: regional splitting of data is impossible

Advantages: costs are down and results are faster available

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

Digitising the 1971 census

Approach, difficulties and solutions

and state of affairs

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

Difficulties

Very soon after the project got underway data problems were discovered.

1. Data were incomplete• Missing labels• Missing cases

2. Data were false• ‘Impossible’ data

Solutions

1. Missing labels: scanning – editing – reentering

2. Missing cases: recovering ‘ancient’ data by going back to the source

3. Impossible data: reestablishing corrupt data

Metadata and documentation

Metadata in (D)DDI

Documentation in Portable Document Format (PDF)

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.

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

Neighbourhood in Focus

Statline Cartographic

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

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)

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.