Swaziland Central Statistical Office Demography and Vital Statistics Unit

Addis Ababa, 18 – 21 November 2014

THE COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, DISSEMINATION AND USE OF MIGRATION

DATA.

A 2007 Swaziland Population and Housing Census Experience

Introduction

• International migration is an important component of population dynamics as it involves people moving from one country to another, and this movement requires an explanation since these trends and patterns have socio - economic and demographic implications on the Swazi Society.

Institutions involved in data collection

• The collection and compilation of migration statistics is done under the Demography and Vital Statistics Unit in the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

• Apart from CSO, other institutes involved in collecting and compiling international data are the Immigration Department and the Refugees Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), as well as the Swaziland Tourism Authority Department under The Ministry of Tourism .

Data Sources

1. Administrative records - Immigration and Tourism departments

2. Sample Surveys – Demographic and Housing

Census 3. Register - Employment Agency for Miners 4. Population Census

Collaboration among Institutions

• There is an adhoc collaboration between MoHA, The Ministry of Tourism and CSO in the compilation and sharing of data.

• Information sourced from the departments is compiled, tabulated and printed into hard copies of the Annual Statistical Bulletin.

The Population Census as the primary source for international migration data.

• The best set of comprehensive information on international migration is provided by population censuses.

• The main focus in international migration is on the demographic characteristics of resident immigrants and emigrants/ absentees.

• The 2007 Census questionnaire had eight (8) sections namely, Section L, Section S, Section P, Section H, Section E, Section A, Section M, and Section MM.

Composition of Sections

• Section P – Demographic and Socio – Economic questions on population.

• Section E – Emigration questions directed to any member of the household who are Swazi citizens but outside Swaziland at the time of enumeration.

Table 1 Sample Migration Questions in 2007 Population and Housing Census Questionnaire

P06 Where(Name) was born

Region: ________________ Major Area:_____________ Foreign Country:_________

P07 What is [name]`s citizenship

Foreigner:_______________ (record the name of the country)

Region: ________________ Major Area:_____________ Foreign Country:_________

P10 How long has [NAME] been living continuously in [NAME OF CURRENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE]

E1 Did any member of the household emigrate during the last 12 years (from 1995 to 2007)

1. Yes 2. No

E2 Provide the following information

sex Age Destination Year of Departure

Activity Abroad

The Population and Housing Census Questionnaire had questions on;

• Country of birth • Citizenship • Place of Previous residence • Emigrants/ Absent population

Country of birth

• The question on Country of birth was used to determine the number of immigrants in the country whereas the question on citizenship will detect the non Swazi population as well as give estimates of the stock of international migrants in the country.

• The question on citizenship was used to establish whether each family member was a Swazi or not

Citizenship

Categories of Swazi Citizens

• Birth If one or both his /her parents are Swazi • Naturalization If application for citizenship has been approved

• Khonta If application for citizenship was launched and

approved through a chief

Place of Previous Residence

• Question used to capture information on migrants and non migrants but focused on internal migrants.

Emigrants/ Absent population

• This section was used to collect information on members of the household who have emigrated during the last 12 years.

• The collected data is used as a measure of the population that leave Swaziland to go to other countries for whatever activity they undertake abroad (in the country of destination).

Classification of Emigrants • Country of destination • Nine countries /continents are listed as

potential destinations; • Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa,

Mozambique,other African countries, Europe,Asia,USA/Canada, rest of the world

• A person reported to have been to more than 1 country/ continent since he/she left was recorded in the most recent country / continent visited.

• Activity abroad • Swazi`s were classified according to their

activity abroad at the time of the Census enumeration on which most of their time was spent

• It should be noted that the activity abroad asked for all persons who have emigrated regardless of their age

Uses of Migration Data

Figure 1: The compilation and use of international

migration data collected through the census

Central Statistical Office

Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry of Tourism

Users (Government, Public, Institutions, Researchers)

Experiences and Lessons learnt

• In-depth analysis on the characteristics of the absentee population/ emigrants shows inconsistence mainly because respondents give unreliable information.

• The question on Place of previous residence

fails to capture multiple movements of international migrants as well as specify time periods of previous residence.

Conclusion • Through a comprehensive assessment in civil

registration that is currently being undertaken, the CSO hopes to strengthen the collaboration between departments in compiling migration data.

• The Population Census questionnaire is an

efficient tool that captures all relevant migration data as needed by the country .

• However, the office hopes to give a more detailed/ exhaustive International Migration report in the 2017 Population and Housing Census.

• There is room for improvement in the

collection, dissemination and use of migration data from population censuses.

Siyabonga