October 2011 Census
October 2011 Census
- Who organises Census?
In South Africa the census is planned and conducted by Statistics South Africa. - Who is Statistics South Africa?
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is the national statistics agency of South Africa established under the Statistics Act (Act No.6 of 1999) with the aim to produce timely, accurate and accessible official statistics.
Why do I have to participate in Census 2011?
Census data is used for planning purposes. If you do not participate, the data collected will not be a true reflection of the South African population. The South African government as well as private sector needs accurate information for effective planning and policy making. - Do I have to participate?
A census attempts to collect data from everyone, unlike a survey which only collects data from selected respondents. A census is therefore the only source for community level data on issues such as migration patterns, education, persons with disabilities, employment and unemployment, fertility, mortality and service delivery, all of which are critical for planning. We therefore encourage all persons in South Africa to cooperate with our fieldworkers and to give them complete and accurate data.
Legally, Section 16 of the Statistics Act (Act 6 of 1999) obliges a respondent to answer all questions put to them by an officer of Statistics South Africa. Section 17 of the Statistics Act guarantees the confidentiality of your information. The data we collect is used for statistical purposes only and no-one, not even the President of South Africa, can access data on an individual level. - How do I know that the person at my door is from Stats SA?
Our enumerators can be identified as follows:
- A yellow satchel with the Census and Stats SA logos
- They will have census questionnaires with them
- An A3-size book with a map of the area on the first page
- A yellow bib with the Census and Stats SA logos
- An ID card
All persons who applied for a census post have been vetted by NIA, and no person who has been convicted of a crime has been employed.
- How do I know that the information I give to Stats SA will not be sold or made available to other organisations such as SARS?
Section 17 of the Statistics Act guarantees the confidentiality of your individual information. Every Stats SA official is sworn to uphold the confidentiality of collected data. Employees of Stats SA will be legally bound, by signing the Oath of Confidentiality, never to disclose individual information gathered in the course of their duties, to anyone not authorised by Stats SA. The oath continues to apply even after employment has ceased. Section 8 of the Statistics Act states that no unauthorised person or organisation (including government departments) can have access to individual information that is gathered in terms of the Act, and no other government organisation can look at any individual information collected during the census except when the data have been aggregated for report purposes and the respondent’s personal details have been excluded. The Act provides for a fine of up to R10 000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months for fieldworkers or other employees of Stats SA who are found guilty of contravening the Act. - Why do you need my full name and address?
The reason Stats SA requires full names and addresses is for quality-check procedures. When you complete the questionnaire, your personal information (such as name and address) will be filled in on a flap attached to the first page of the questionnaire. Once the quality assurance has been done, this flap is removed and destroyed. During the final processing, the data for all the households are converted into statistical tables for publication that do not include name and address information. Consequently, published information can never be traced back to a specific household, or a particular individual.
While Stats SA asks for the full names of respondents and records the physical addresses of their dwellings on the questionnaire, this information is never published or otherwise made available to anyone outside the employ of Stats SA, not even to other government agencies. - How long does it take to fill in the questionnaire?
It will take approximately 35 minutes to complete the questionnaire, depending on the number of people in your household. - Can I complete the questionnaire on my own?
The fieldworkers have been specially trained to assist with the speedy completion of the questionnaire. Should you wish to complete the questionnaire on your own, you may. You can also contact the call centre (0800 110 248) should you need assistance in the completion of the questionnaire. Please ensure that all questions are answered, and make arrangements with the fieldworker to have your questionnaire collected before 30 October 2011. - Can I complete the questionnaire online?
Questionnaires have to be linked geographically to a particular area. Due to this, physical questionnaires have to be administered to households. - Can I print the questionnaire from a website and complete it myself?
Questionnaires are barcoded for scanning and tracking purposes; they cannot be made available for download, as downloaded questionnaires cannot be barcorded. Questionnaires are linked to a specific area by means of the barcode, ensuring that the information generated from this project is accurate.
Each questionnaire has a set of stickers. One is stuck in a prominent area in the home to show that the household has been enumerated; the other is left with the household. After the census operations, a Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is conducted as a quality assurance measure. A sample of households will be visited a second time, and a much shorter questionnaire will be administered. If you are part of the PES, you need to give the second sticker to the fieldworker. This will allow us to match the census questionnaire with the PES questionnaire, and ensure that information was captured accurately. - What if I live in an old age home, or I am in a hotel or some other communal establishment on Census night?
Statistics South Africa uses three different questionnaires. Questionnaire A is for households; questionnaire B is for people who are in transit, i.e. at airports, hotels, etc, and Questionnaire C is for people in institutions such as hospitals, prisons, etc. so you will be enumerated accordingly. - On the night of the 9th I will be out of the country. Will I get counted?
No. Stats SA conducts a de facto census, which means we count people where they were on the night of 9 October 2011. Anyone who was in the country before midnight on 9 October 2011 is counted; anyone who entered the country on 10 October 2011 is not. E.g. babies born before midnight on 9 October 2011 are counted; babies born on 10 October 2011 are not. - When will the results of Census 2011 be available to the public?
The final results will be available in March 2013. - I have a live-in domestic worker, will she be counted with my household?
A live-in domestic worker who gets paid a salary is counted as a separate household. - How will people in institutions (prisons, hospitals, etc) be counted?
Institutions such as prisons, hospitals, clinics, etc. will be enumerated using administrative records. The person responsible will be requested to supply the enumerator with a register of all persons who were present in that institution on that night. This information will then be recorded on Questionnaire C. - I am at home on 09 October, but will be leaving shortly after that and only returning after enumeration ends on 31 October. How do I ensure I am counted?
Please contact the call centre on 0800 110 248 with your details. Your details will be forwarded to the relevant district office, who will endeavour to send a fieldworker to enumerate your household before you leave.
