HONDURAS

1. Name and address of the organization responsible for the census:

National Institute of Statistics (INE), Boulevard Suyapa/Col. Florencia Sur, Apartado Postal 9412, Tegucigalpa MDC.

2. Population censuses conducted since 1945 (years):

1950, 1961, 1974, 1988 and 2001. The present description relates to the 2001 population census (conducted 28 July).

3. Coverage of the census:

a) Geographical scope: Whole country.

b) Persons covered: Whole population.

4. Reference period:

The week prior to census day.

5. Main topics:

a) Total population, by sex and age: Yes

Economically active population by:

b) Sex and age group: Yes

c) Industry: Yes

d) Occupation: Yes

e) Status in employment: Yes

f) Highest educational level: Yes

g) Hours of work: No

h) Other characteristics: No

Re. a): Age was defined in terms of age at last birthday.

6. Concepts and definitions:

a) Economically active population: Comprises all persons aged 10 years and over who, during the reference week, were either employed or unemployed, according to the definitions given below.  

b) Employment: Considered as “employed” are all persons who, during the reference week, were engaged in an activity which did or did not generate monetary income; this includes members of the armed forces and persons conscripted to military service. To determine whether a person should be considered as employed, the question was asked: “Did you work last week? (1) Yes; (2) No”. Those who answered “no” were asked the following questions: “A: (1) Did you tend to crops, forests or livestock on your own property or that of a relative? (2) Did you work or help out in your own business or workshop or that of a relative? (3) Did you prepare food or make articles to sell? (4) Did you have a job but did not work because you were on holiday, on leave, ill, etc.? (5) Did you look for a job, having worked before? B: (6) Did you look for a job, never having worked before? (7) Did you live off your retirement or pension benefits? (8) Did you live off your revenue? (9) Did you only study? (10) Did you only carry out household chores? (11) Are you permanently incapacitated for work? (12) Other”.

It was indicated that the following categories are included:

i)         Persons working without pay in a family enterprise or business;

ii)        Employed persons who are temporarily absent from work.

These two categories can be identified separately.

c) Unemployment: Considered as "unemployed" are all persons who were not engaged in any economic activity during the reference week because they did not have a job but were actively seeking work or taking steps to set up their own business or to work on the land (smallholding). This covers previously employed jobseekers (persons who were laid off) as well as first-time job seekers (new workers). To determine whether a person should be considered as unemployed, questions (5) and (6) from paragraph 6 (b) above were used.

7. Classifications used:

Both employed persons and previously employed unemployed persons were classified by industry, occupation and status in employment.

a) Industry: To determine industry, the following question was asked: “What activity are you engaged in or what is the product of the enterprise, institution or workplace where you work or last worked?” For classifying industry, the third revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC Rev.3) was used to the 4-digit level.

b) Occupation: To determine occupational group, the following question was asked: “What is the title of the main job, function or duties that you are or were performing as part of that work?” For coding occupation, the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88) was used to the 4-digit level.

c) Status in employment: To determine status in employment, the following question was asked: “In this job, are you working or did you work as: (1) A private employee or worker? (2) A public employee or worker? (3) An employer with employees? (4) A self-employed worker? (5) An unpaid family worker? (6) A domestic employee? (7) Other.

d) Level of education: To determine the level of education attained, the following question was asked: “What was the last grade, course or year that you passed?”. The groups used to code this variable were: (1) None; (2) Literacy; (3) Pre-primary; (4) Primary; (5) Secondary, first cycle; (6) Secondary, diversified cycle; (7) Further education, other than university; (8) University; (9) University post-graduate. The classification is linked to the 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97). 

8. Main differences compared with the previous census:

The 1988 census asked about:

-           Income from the stated occupation;

-           Hours worked during the reference period.  

9. Publication of the census results:

The final results of the census were published as of October 2002 in the following volumes:

Volume I:           Amended figures resulting from an omission in the census;

Volume II:         General population characteristics;

Volume III:        General housing characteristics;

Volume VI:        Unfulfilled basic needs;

Volume VIII:      Migration.      

The organization responsible for the publication is the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Boulevard Suyapa/Col. Florencia Sur, Apartado Postal 9412, Tegucigalpa MDC.

The results of the census are also available on the INE website (www.ine-hn.org).