Population and Housing Census 2007

The census is the only data source that has been designed to provide basic demographic and socioeconomic information of all persons within its defined scope at one particular point in time. In this connection, it is important to note that a census is either conducted as a de-facto or de-jure operation.

• In a de-facto census, all persons present in the country at a certain point in time (census night) are included in the enumeration. Moreover, all persons (with the exception of a few well-defined cases) are enumerated in the household where they happen to be on census night.

• A de-jure census is an enumeration of all those who are usually present in the household (or those who belong to the household). In other words, a de-jure census provides a picture of the usual composition of a household irrespective of where household members actually were on census night.

Generally, census administrators prefer the de-facto approach since it is conceptually much easier than a de-jure enumeration, because a person can only be in one place at a time. A dejure census needs to be defined in terms of “duration of stay” and this often causes very significant problems of interpretation. As a result, it is more straightforward to organize and manage a de-facto census.

On the other hand, policy makers and planners are not only interested in a de-facto but often even more in a de-jure picture of the total population as well the population in all geographic subdivisions of the country. This of course also applies to politicians. In order to accommodate the requirements of these users to some extent, many countries that conduct their census on a de-facto basis, include a de-jure element. This de-jure element entails that all those who are covered under the de-facto rule, are asked an additional question about their “usual place of residence” on census night. However, this does not alter the fact that the census remains in principle a de-facto operation

All censuses in Fiji so far have been conducted on a de-facto basis. The 2007 Census was also a de-facto census, but it included the above-mentioned de-jure element. This means that all persons present in the country at midnight 16 September have been included in the census. They have been enumerated at the place (household) where they spent census night, irrespective of their usual place of residence. However, the usual place of residence of all these persons on Census Night was also recorded.