1991 Population and Housing Census - IPUMS Subset
Botswana, 1991
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Reference ID
BWA_1991_PHC_v01_M_v7.5_A_IPUMS
Producer(s)
Central Statistics Office, IPUMS
Metadata
Created on
Sep 03, 2025
Last modified
Sep 03, 2025
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227
- Data files
- BWA1991_PHC-H-H.dat
- BWA1991_PHC-P-H.dat
Occupation (last 30 days) (BW1991A_OCC)
Data file: BWA1991_PHC-P-H.dat
Overview
Type:
Discrete
Decimal:
0
Start:
185
End:
186
Width:
2
Range:
-
Format:
Numeric
Questions and instructions
Literal question
<span class="h2">Section A</span></p>
<p><span class="em">(12 years and over)</span></p>
<p>12. During the past 30 days did [the respondent] work for cash?</p>
<div class="i1">[] 1 Yes for someone else (Go to Q. 14) <br />[] 2 Yes, for self (Go to Q. 14) <br />[] 3 No (Go to Q. 13)</div><p>13. Then what did [the person] do during the last 30 days?</p>
<div class="i1">[] 1 Family business<br />[] 2 Work at lands/farms/cattle post</div><div class="i2">[For responses 1 or 2,] go to Q.14</div><div class="i1">[] 3 Actively seeking work<br />[] 4 Housework<br />[] 5 Student<br />[] 6 Retired<br />[] 7 Other (specify)</div><div class="i2">[For responses 3 to 6,] go to Q.16 if female, else go to next person</div><p>14. Occupation</p>
<div class="i1">What type of work did [the person] do? (Probe as necessary) ____</div>
<p><span class="em">(12 years and over)</span></p>
<p>12. During the past 30 days did [the respondent] work for cash?</p>
<div class="i1">[] 1 Yes for someone else (Go to Q. 14) <br />[] 2 Yes, for self (Go to Q. 14) <br />[] 3 No (Go to Q. 13)</div><p>13. Then what did [the person] do during the last 30 days?</p>
<div class="i1">[] 1 Family business<br />[] 2 Work at lands/farms/cattle post</div><div class="i2">[For responses 1 or 2,] go to Q.14</div><div class="i1">[] 3 Actively seeking work<br />[] 4 Housework<br />[] 5 Student<br />[] 6 Retired<br />[] 7 Other (specify)</div><div class="i2">[For responses 3 to 6,] go to Q.16 if female, else go to next person</div><p>14. Occupation</p>
<div class="i1">What type of work did [the person] do? (Probe as necessary) ____</div>
Categories
| Value | Category |
|---|---|
| 00 | NIU (not in universe) |
| 11 | Legislators and senior government officials |
| 12 | Company directors and corporate managers |
| 13 | Small business managers and managing supervisors |
| 21 | Physical or life scientist |
| 23 | Heatlh diagnosis and treatment professionals |
| 24 | Architects, engineers and related professionals |
| 25 | Teaching professionals |
| 27 | Business professionals |
| 29 | Miscellaneous professionals |
| 31 | Physical and engineering science technicians |
| 32 | Computer associate professionals |
| 33 | Optical and electronic equipment operators and controllers |
| 34 | Life science and health associate professionals |
| 35 | Primary and pre primary education teachers |
| 36 | Finance and sale associate professionals |
| 37 | Administrative associate professionals |
| 38 | Creative and performing artists and sportspersons |
| 39 | Miscellaneous technicians and associate professionals |
| 41 | Office clerks |
| 42 | Custome services clerks |
| 51 | Personal services workers |
| 52 | Protective services workers |
| 53 | Salespersons, demonstrators and models |
| 61 | Market oriented skilled agricultural and related workers |
| 62 | Skilled agricultural workers, not specified |
| 71 | Extraction trades workers |
| 72 | Building and construction trades workers |
| 73 | Machinery mechanics and fitters |
| 74 | Metal moulders, welders, sheet metal workers, structural metal preparers, blacksmiths, tool makers and related workers |
| 75 | Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics and fitters |
| 76 | Handicraft and related trades workers |
| 77 | Food processing and related trades workers |
| 78 | Wood treaters, wood furniture markers and related trades workers |
| 79 | Miscellaneous craft and related trades workers |
| 81 | Industrial plant operators |
| 82 | Stationary machine operators and assemblers |
| 83 | Drivers and mobile machinery operators |
| 91 | Labourers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport |
| 92 | Agricultural and related labourers |
| 93 | Sales and services elementary occupations |
| 99 | Unknown |
Warning: these figures indicate the number of cases found in the data file. They cannot be interpreted as summary statistics of the population of interest.
Interviewer instructions
<span class="em">Column A14: Occupation</span></p>
<p>What type of work did [the respondent] do?</p>
<p>A person's occupation depends on the tasks and duties which the person performs. Remember that if a person worked at all during the past 30 days, whether for cash or not, and for however short a period, then you should try to find out what kind of work the person did. You should try to get the respondent to give both a job title and a two- or three-word description of the tasks performed. For example, if a person states that he is a mechanic, ask him what he repairs. You might record his response (in the unshaded area of column A14) as follows: "mechanic, fixes cars 11 or "mechanic, fixes radios". If you need more space use the block which says "Probe as necessary" at the top of column A14. You may also use the comments block.</p>
<p>If a person moved from job to job you should enter the most recent occupation even if it only lasted for a day or two. This may happen with people who are casual labourers.</p>
<p>If a person has more than one occupation, record the one on which he/she spends the most time. However, if someone has a temporary job during the school holidays - but has a permanent job during term time, it is their permanent occupation that should be described. A census enumerator or supervisor who is a school teacher during term time must therefore be described as "Primary School Teacher" or "Secondary School Teacher".</p>
<p>Probing for Better Occupational Information: You will usually have to probe the respondent to get good information about a person's occupation. For example, people who make things (bread, clothing, pottery, wood objects, tools, beer, food products, furniture, bricks, etc.) should be asked how they make them. It is important to find out whether they mostly use their hands or hand-held
<br /><span class="pg">[p.30]</span>
<br />tools, or whether they mostly produce these goods by operating machinery. A person who brews beer at home using traditional techniques belongs to a different occupational category than a person who operates a machine which ferments the grains used in making beer.</p>
<p>You should also probe when the information provided by the respondent does not seem reasonable. For example, if a person has only completed Form 4, it seems unlikely that he or she could be an auditor or an engineer. If you probe, you may discover that the person is actually an accounting clerk or an engineering assistant. Specific examples of how to probe for better occupational information are given on page 31. </p>
<p>In the sample questionnaire on page 26, the head of household works as a labourer in a mine, so "mine labourer" is written in the unshaded area under column A14. Anne, although she did not work for cash payment, did work in the lands as a farmer. The enumerator probed and found out that she was growing melons for family consumption. The response is recorded as "farmer" in the unshaded area under column A14, and the information obtained by further probing is recorded in the large block above as "grew melons for family consumption". The question does not apply to Mimi or to Molelo because they are under 12 years old, and it does not apply to Anthony because he is a student. Dashes are entered for them. David, who is self-employed, is a taxi driver, and that information is recorded in the unshaded area of column A14. Thembe has retired, so the question does not apply to her (a dash is entered).</p>
<p><span class="pg">[p.31]</span></p>
<p>Specific examples of how to probe for better occupational information:</p>
<p>[Column headings:]
<br />(A) Response
<br />(B) Suggested probing questions</p>
<p>(A) Builder
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] build using mostly traditional materials and techniques?</p>
<p>(A) Brewer
<br />(B) Where and how does [the respondent] make the beer? (at home or elsewhere using traditional techniques, in a commercial brewery using machines)
<br />
<br />(A) Carpenter
<br />(B) What kinds of things does [the respondent] make or build? (furniture, door and window frames, wood frames for houses, etc.)</p>
<p>(A) Cleaner
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] clean? (streets, houses, offices, shoes, clothes)
<br />
<br />(A) Clerk
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] work in an office mostly or does [the respondent] mostly deal with customers? What kind of clerk is [the respondent]? (stock, production, accounting, bookkeeping, statistical, finance, transport, library, filing, mail sorting, coding)
<br />
<br />(A) Driver
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] drive? (car, taxi, bus, van, combi, lorry, truck, tractor, bulldozer, excavator, grader, scraper, compactor)
<br />
<br />(A) Electrician
<br />(B) What kinds of things does [the respondent] repair? (cars, electrical wires in buildings, electrical power lines, electrical equipment or appliances, electrical machinery)
<br />
<br />(A) Engineer
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] have a college degree in engineering? What kind of engineer is [the respondent]? (chemical, civil, construction, electrical, electronic, telecommunications, mechanical, mining)</p>
<p>(A) Farmer
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] produce mostly animals or crops? What kind of animals does [the respondent] raise? (livestock, poultry, other) Does [the respondent] raise the animals (or grow the crops) mostly to sell them or for family consumption?
<br />
<br />(A) Foreman supervisor
<br />(B) What kinds of workers does [the respondent] supervise? Does [the respondent] help those he or she supervises to do the work? If so, what kind of work is it?</p>
<p>(A) Gardener
<br />(B) In what kind of garden does [the respondent] work? (private home, commercial farm, commercial nursery) Are the things grown in the garden mostly consumed by the household or sold?</p>
<p>(A) Labourer
<br />(B) Where does [the respondent] work as a labourer? (construction site, mine, factory, shop, shipping company, railroad, airport, farm, forest)
<br />
<br />(A) Machine operator
<br />(B) What kind of machine does [the respondent] operate?</p>
<p>(A) Manager
<br />(B) In what kind of organisation is [the respondent] a manager? (government, humanitarian organisation, hospital, retail shop, compru1y, factory, bank, etc.) Does [the respondent] manage a whole company or a department in the company? What department does [the respondent] manage? (production, operations, other)
<br />
<br />(A) Mechanic
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] fix? (cars, refrigerators, air conditioners, other machines or equipment)
<br />
<br />(A) Painter
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] paint? (buildings, ceramics, artistic pah1tings, wood, cars, metal, interior walls)
<br />
<br />(A) Salesperson
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] sell? Where does [the respondent] sell? (shop, kiosk, market, street, from home)</p>
<p>(A) Scientist
<br />(B) What kind of scientist is [the respondent]? (chemist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, pharmacologist, botanist, zoologist, pathologist, agronomist)</p>
<p>(A) Security guard
<br />(B) By whom is [the respondent] employed? (security firm, company, government, office, private individual, shop)
<br />
<br />(A) Seller
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] sell? Where does [the respondent] sell? (shop, kiosk, market stall, street, from home)
<br />
<br />(A) Teacher
<br />(B) At what level does [the respondent] teach? (pre-primary, primary, secondary, college, university, brigades, trade school, commercial school, computer academy)
<br />
<br />(A) Technician
<br />(B) What kind of technician is [the respondent]? (health, engineering, physical science, life science, computer, agronomy, forestry, veterinary)
<p>What type of work did [the respondent] do?</p>
<p>A person's occupation depends on the tasks and duties which the person performs. Remember that if a person worked at all during the past 30 days, whether for cash or not, and for however short a period, then you should try to find out what kind of work the person did. You should try to get the respondent to give both a job title and a two- or three-word description of the tasks performed. For example, if a person states that he is a mechanic, ask him what he repairs. You might record his response (in the unshaded area of column A14) as follows: "mechanic, fixes cars 11 or "mechanic, fixes radios". If you need more space use the block which says "Probe as necessary" at the top of column A14. You may also use the comments block.</p>
<p>If a person moved from job to job you should enter the most recent occupation even if it only lasted for a day or two. This may happen with people who are casual labourers.</p>
<p>If a person has more than one occupation, record the one on which he/she spends the most time. However, if someone has a temporary job during the school holidays - but has a permanent job during term time, it is their permanent occupation that should be described. A census enumerator or supervisor who is a school teacher during term time must therefore be described as "Primary School Teacher" or "Secondary School Teacher".</p>
<p>Probing for Better Occupational Information: You will usually have to probe the respondent to get good information about a person's occupation. For example, people who make things (bread, clothing, pottery, wood objects, tools, beer, food products, furniture, bricks, etc.) should be asked how they make them. It is important to find out whether they mostly use their hands or hand-held
<br /><span class="pg">[p.30]</span>
<br />tools, or whether they mostly produce these goods by operating machinery. A person who brews beer at home using traditional techniques belongs to a different occupational category than a person who operates a machine which ferments the grains used in making beer.</p>
<p>You should also probe when the information provided by the respondent does not seem reasonable. For example, if a person has only completed Form 4, it seems unlikely that he or she could be an auditor or an engineer. If you probe, you may discover that the person is actually an accounting clerk or an engineering assistant. Specific examples of how to probe for better occupational information are given on page 31. </p>
<p>In the sample questionnaire on page 26, the head of household works as a labourer in a mine, so "mine labourer" is written in the unshaded area under column A14. Anne, although she did not work for cash payment, did work in the lands as a farmer. The enumerator probed and found out that she was growing melons for family consumption. The response is recorded as "farmer" in the unshaded area under column A14, and the information obtained by further probing is recorded in the large block above as "grew melons for family consumption". The question does not apply to Mimi or to Molelo because they are under 12 years old, and it does not apply to Anthony because he is a student. Dashes are entered for them. David, who is self-employed, is a taxi driver, and that information is recorded in the unshaded area of column A14. Thembe has retired, so the question does not apply to her (a dash is entered).</p>
<p><span class="pg">[p.31]</span></p>
<p>Specific examples of how to probe for better occupational information:</p>
<p>[Column headings:]
<br />(A) Response
<br />(B) Suggested probing questions</p>
<p>(A) Builder
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] build using mostly traditional materials and techniques?</p>
<p>(A) Brewer
<br />(B) Where and how does [the respondent] make the beer? (at home or elsewhere using traditional techniques, in a commercial brewery using machines)
<br />
<br />(A) Carpenter
<br />(B) What kinds of things does [the respondent] make or build? (furniture, door and window frames, wood frames for houses, etc.)</p>
<p>(A) Cleaner
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] clean? (streets, houses, offices, shoes, clothes)
<br />
<br />(A) Clerk
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] work in an office mostly or does [the respondent] mostly deal with customers? What kind of clerk is [the respondent]? (stock, production, accounting, bookkeeping, statistical, finance, transport, library, filing, mail sorting, coding)
<br />
<br />(A) Driver
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] drive? (car, taxi, bus, van, combi, lorry, truck, tractor, bulldozer, excavator, grader, scraper, compactor)
<br />
<br />(A) Electrician
<br />(B) What kinds of things does [the respondent] repair? (cars, electrical wires in buildings, electrical power lines, electrical equipment or appliances, electrical machinery)
<br />
<br />(A) Engineer
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] have a college degree in engineering? What kind of engineer is [the respondent]? (chemical, civil, construction, electrical, electronic, telecommunications, mechanical, mining)</p>
<p>(A) Farmer
<br />(B) Does [the respondent] produce mostly animals or crops? What kind of animals does [the respondent] raise? (livestock, poultry, other) Does [the respondent] raise the animals (or grow the crops) mostly to sell them or for family consumption?
<br />
<br />(A) Foreman supervisor
<br />(B) What kinds of workers does [the respondent] supervise? Does [the respondent] help those he or she supervises to do the work? If so, what kind of work is it?</p>
<p>(A) Gardener
<br />(B) In what kind of garden does [the respondent] work? (private home, commercial farm, commercial nursery) Are the things grown in the garden mostly consumed by the household or sold?</p>
<p>(A) Labourer
<br />(B) Where does [the respondent] work as a labourer? (construction site, mine, factory, shop, shipping company, railroad, airport, farm, forest)
<br />
<br />(A) Machine operator
<br />(B) What kind of machine does [the respondent] operate?</p>
<p>(A) Manager
<br />(B) In what kind of organisation is [the respondent] a manager? (government, humanitarian organisation, hospital, retail shop, compru1y, factory, bank, etc.) Does [the respondent] manage a whole company or a department in the company? What department does [the respondent] manage? (production, operations, other)
<br />
<br />(A) Mechanic
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] fix? (cars, refrigerators, air conditioners, other machines or equipment)
<br />
<br />(A) Painter
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] paint? (buildings, ceramics, artistic pah1tings, wood, cars, metal, interior walls)
<br />
<br />(A) Salesperson
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] sell? Where does [the respondent] sell? (shop, kiosk, market, street, from home)</p>
<p>(A) Scientist
<br />(B) What kind of scientist is [the respondent]? (chemist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, pharmacologist, botanist, zoologist, pathologist, agronomist)</p>
<p>(A) Security guard
<br />(B) By whom is [the respondent] employed? (security firm, company, government, office, private individual, shop)
<br />
<br />(A) Seller
<br />(B) What does [the respondent] sell? Where does [the respondent] sell? (shop, kiosk, market stall, street, from home)
<br />
<br />(A) Teacher
<br />(B) At what level does [the respondent] teach? (pre-primary, primary, secondary, college, university, brigades, trade school, commercial school, computer academy)
<br />
<br />(A) Technician
<br />(B) What kind of technician is [the respondent]? (health, engineering, physical science, life science, computer, agronomy, forestry, veterinary)
Description
Definition
This variable indicates the person's occupation during the last 30 days.
Universe
Botswana 1991: Persons age 12+ who worked for cash, for family business or in agriculture in the last 30 days [discrepancies: type I 0.1%; type II trace]
concept
Concept
| var_concept.title | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Work: Occupation Variables -- PERSON | IPUMS |