Population and Housing Census 2011
India, 2010 - 2011
Identification
IND_2011_PHC_v01_M
Population and Housing Census 2011
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| India | IND |
Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]
The Population and Housing Census was conducted non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. Although the 1872 census has been popularly labeled as the first population census of India, the first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten years.The Census 2011 will be the fifteenth in the series since beginning and seventh since Independence.
The Census of India 2011 was conducted in two phases. The first phase, called the “Houselisting and Housing Census” was undertaken a few months prior to the second phase termed as “Population Enumeration”. The objective of the Houselisting and Housing Census Operations is to identify each building/census house and also to ascertain the quality of the census house, amenities accessible to it and assets available to the households living in those census houses. The fundamental principle is to cover the entire country in a systematic manner without omission or duplication. The enumerator collects the required information by visiting each and every household and canvassing a written questionnaire called the Houselist and Housing Schedule. In Census 2011, a period of 45 days was given for this purpose. Every State/Union Territory chose this period in a time window starting April 2010 to September 2010 depending upon their convenience. Approximately twenty five lakh (or 2.5 million) enumerators and 2 lakh supervisors were engaged for this operation. The households were visited across the length and breadth of this vast country. What made the exercise even more challenging was the fact that the information was collected on 35 items and 1.5 crore Census Schedules were canvassed in 16 Indian languages.
Household
Individual
Building/Census house
Scope
The Household Schedule covers the following:
- Demographic characteristics: name, relationship to head; sex; age; marital status; age at marriage; religion; scheduled tribe/caste; disability; mother tongue; other known languages; literacy; highest educational level attained; status of attendance
- Economic Activity: Worked anytime during the year; Category of economic activity
Characteristics of workers and non workers - Workers: Occupation; Nature of industry, trade or service; Class of worker
- Marginal/Non worker: Non economic activity; Seeking or available for work
- Travel to place of work : One way distance; Mode of travel to place of work
- Persons born outside village or town: Birth place within India; Birth place out of India
The scope of the Houselisting and Housing Census includes:
- Number of census houses; Number of occupied census houses; Condition of census houses; Predominant roof material; Predominant wall material; Predominant floor material; Number of persons residing in household; Ownership status of the house
- Amenities available to the household: Number of dwelling rooms; Number of married couples in household; Main source of drinking water; Main source of lighting; Availability and type of latrine facility; Type of bathing facility; Drainage connectivity for waste water outlet; Availability of kitchen facility; Fuel used for cooking
- Posession of assets: Radio, TV, Telephone, Bicycle, Scooter, Motorcycle, Moped,Car, Jeep, Van
- Availing Banking Facilities
Coverage
National
The Houselisting and Housing Census excluded houseless households
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India | Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |
| Name |
|---|
| Government of India |
Survey instrument
The Household Schedule and the Houselist Schedule are available in English and provided as external resources.
The Household Schedule covers topics including the following:
- General and Socio-Cultural characteristics (religion, caste, language, education, disability); Characteristics of workers and non-workers; Migration characteristics
The Houselist Schedule covers topics including the following: - Floor, wall and roofing material; Use of census house; Drinking water source; Source of lighting; Fuel used for cooking
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-04 | 2010-09 | Houselisting and Housing Census |
| 2011-02 | 2011-03 | Population Enumeration |
While in most of the States/Union Territories, the Houselisting and Housing Census was taken up in a single phase, in States like Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh the same was conducted in two phases due to the weather conditions (snowfall) in certain parts of these States. In Delhi, the exercise was conducted in two phases on account of administrative convenience. In addition to collecting data on characteristics of the house, information on availability of certain amenities and possession of certain assets by the households were collected in this phase. A separate Schedule was also canvassed in which the details required for creating the National Population Register were collected. For working out the calendar for Houselisting Operations various factors such as availability of enumerators, weather conditions and agricultural activities were taken into account. Normally, a period of one month is considered sufficient for canvassing the Houselisting and Housing Census Schedule. The period, April to September is also considered ideal for this exercise. However, in Census 2011, the period was increased to 45 days keeping in view the fact that the National Population Register (NPR) Schedule was also canvassed additionally.
Data processing
The Census 2011 process involved the following steps:
- House to house canvassing
- Scanning
- Image Based Recognition (ICR)
- Image Validation
- Manual completion of unrecognized characters
- Database Tabulation
- Data Dissemination
Data Access
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORGI - Data Dissemination Unit (DDU) New Delhi | Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India | http://www.censusindia.gov.in | rgoffice.rgi.in |
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
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 | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORGI - Data Dissemination Unit (DDU) New Delhi | Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India | rgoffice.rgi@nic.in | http://www.censusindia.gov.in/AboutUs/Contactus/Contactus.html |
| The World Bank Microdata Library | World Bank |
Metadata production
DDI_IND_2011_PHC_v01_M
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Development Economics Data Group | The World Bank | Documentation of the DDI |
2014-01-13
Metadata version
Version 01 (January 2014)