Household Sample Survey 2008
Belarus, 2007 - 2009
Identification
BLR_2008_HHS_v01_M
Household Sample Survey 2008
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Belarus | BLR |
Income/Expenditure/Household Survey [hh/ies]
Starting from 1995, the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus (formerly the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis) has been conducting a sample survey of 6,000 households on a yearly basis, according to the methodology complying with international standards. The survey is carried out in all regions of the country and Minsk City, covering 49 cities, towns and urban-type settlements, and 53 rural councils. Data from the latest population census is used to construct the sample.
For the survey, researchers collect information on demographic characteristics of household members, housing conditions, personal subsidiary plots, property, household expenditure and income.
The information obtained from the survey is used to analyze the influence of new social processes on living standards and to develop policies aimed at social protection of various population groups. Data is also used to compile household accounts in the system of National Accounts, to calculate consumer price index for goods and services, and to estimate the poverty level in the country.
Sample survey data [ssd]
A household is understood as the unit of the survey. For survey purposes the category "households" includes:
- families consisting of a husband and a wife with or without children or single parent families;
- relatives living together and having a common budget (brother and sister, grandmother and grandson and etc.);
- persons living together and having a common budget but who are not relatives, for example two friends;
- persons living alone;
- families consisting of two and more married couples with or without children.
Version
v01: Edited data, for internal use only.
Scope
The scope of the study includes:
- household members' demographic characteristics;
- dwelling (housing);
- expenditures;
- income and savings;
- health;
- subsidiary (land) plots.
Coverage
National coverage
Cities and settlements
The survey covers all household members excluding persons fully supported by the state, for example people staying in homes for the elderly and the disabled, children in public care institutions, prisoners, etc. The survey also excludes foreigners living and working in Belarus on contract basis and families of military men living in military residential settlements or other restricted areas.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| World Bank | Assistance in organizing and conducting the survey |
| Name |
|---|
| National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus |
Sampling
Sampled households are surveyed for a year and then are subject to replacement (rotation). To conduct the survey, households' residential addresses are sampled. Sampled population forming 0.2% of universe general population is annually arranged by the statistical office.
A household is understood as the unit of the survey. This is a person or a group of persons (mainly relatives) living together and having a common budget. Close relationship is not an obligatory condition.
Sampling was based on the territorial principle of forming a selection. In accordance with this principle, sampling involved three stages. Different territorial units of selection were used at every stage: the larger units were used at the initial stage while at the third stage the surveyed unit was equal to the selection unit. To ensure equal distribution of sample over the territory of the country, the selection was made separately for urban and rural population.
At the first stage, administrative and territorial units such as cities (including urban settlements) and rural councils were taken as the units of selection. Nineteen cities with the population above 72,000 people and 58 village councils were selected.
At the second stage, constituencies were taken as the selection units in urban areas and residential settlements were taken as the selection units in rural areas. The list of constituencies is drafted at the regional level based on the district (city) executive committees' data on the number of eligible voters. The list of voters excluded persons living in students' and workers' hostels. At the second stage maps of all selected cities and village councils were widely used when building a sample.
At the third stage, a household was taken as the unit of selection. Within the area of the selected constituencies in urban areas and residential settlements in rural areas, the lists of residential apartments and individual houses were drafted based on the data of apartment register in towns and village councils' registers in rural areas. The lists were drafted in line with the numbering of buildings within the area of the selected constituencies in urban areas and in residential settlements in rural areas.
Detailed information about the sampling is available in "Belarus Household Sample Survey Methodology" in Technical Documents (p.9-17).
Survey instrument
The main components of the survey are:
-
The main interview which is intended to establish the first contact with the household, to make the list of all household members, to collect the basic information about the household in general and its individual members and to fix the date for subsequent interviews. Before an interview a household receives the initial letter signed by the Minister of Statistics and Analysis stating the date and time of the interviewer's visit. The main interview is conducted in December of the previous year;
-
Four quarterly interviews, conducted in April, July, October of the current year and January of the next year. Quarterly interview covers three previous months and summarizes the information about incomes and major expenditures of the households. At the beginning of every quarter a household is given a diary for recording expenditures during the quarter. The diary is used during quarterly interviews;
-
Four two-week diaries which are handed to a household every quarter. The diary is intended for daily recording of expenditures on foodstuffs and non-food products within 14 days as well as for recording of the consumed foodstuffs which were produced at the individual subsidiary land plot or received as a present.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-12 | 2009-01 | Quarterly |
| Name |
|---|
| National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus |
Prior to visiting the household, a specialist conducting the survey sends each sampled household a copy of a letter with a request to participate in the survey. The letter contains a brief description of household sample survey procedures and a date of the first visit.
During the survey, the initial load per an interviewer is about 40 households, which the interviewer visits 17 times during a year.
Detailed information about interviewers' training and organization of their work is available in "Belarus Household Sample Survey Methodology" in Technical Documents (p.18-22).
Data processing
The following coding systems were developed and introduced for Belarus household sample survey:
- coding of households covered by the survey;
- coding of household expenditures;
- coding of additional incomes and employment of household members by sectors and types of activity.
Detailed information about coding procedures is available in "Belarus Household Sample Survey Methodology" (p.22-25) in Technical Documents.
Data Access
The use of the datasets must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the identification of the Primary Investigator (including country name)
- the full title of the survey and its acronym (when available), and the year(s) of implementation
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download (for datasets disseminated online).
Example:
National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Belarus Household Sample Survey (HHS) 2008, Ref. BLR_2008_HHS_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [URL] on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
| Name | |
|---|---|
| The National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus | belstat@mail.belpak.by |
Metadata production
DDI_BLR_2008_HHS_v01_M
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ronita Mitra | World Bank | Documentation of the study |
| Development Data Group | World Bank | Revision of the study documentation |
2011-01-14
Metadata version
Version 02
Compared to v01, v02 (October 2012) includes changes in Study Information.