TUVALU

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

Central Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Industries, Private Bag, Vaiaku, Funafuti.

2. Population censuses conducted since 1945 (years):

1979, 1991 and 2002.    The present description relates to the 2002 population census (held on 18 November).

3. Coverage of the census:

(a) Geographical scope: Whole country.     

(b) Persons covered: All persons of all ages.   

4. Reference period:

The week preceding the census day.

5. Main topics:                                  

(a) Total population, by sex and age:  yes.   

Economically active population by:  yes

(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:  yes                                              

(h) Other characteristics:  yes            

Re (a): The age is determined in terms of date of birth and age at last birthday.  

Re (h): The census also collected information on ethnicity, nationality, marital status, religion and certain health-related topics.

6. Concepts and definitions:

(a) Economically active population:  It comprises all persons aged 15 years and over who, during the reference period, were either employed or unemployed, according to the definitions given below.

(b) Employment:  Considered as employed are all persons who performed any work during the reference period.  The question used to determine whether a person is to be counted as employed is “Last week did this person do any work?”.   Possible responses were: 1) Yes, fishing/agriculture/handicraft only; 2) Yes, other type of work only; 3) Yes, combination of the above; 4) No work.      

It is reported that the following categories are included:                                         

i)         persons doing unpaid work in family firm or business;          

ii)        persons engaged in production for own consumption;            

iii)       employed persons, temporarily absent from work;                            

iv)       working students with a part-time job;                                   

v)         seasonal or occasional workers;                                            

vi)       apprentices and trainees.

Persons belonging to categories (i), (ii) and (iii) can be identified separately.

(c) Unemployment: Considered as unemployed are all persons who, during the reference period, were without work but were available for work.  The questions used to determine whether a person is to be counted as unemployed are “Did this person actively look for work in the past four weeks?” and “If this person had found a job, could he or she have started work last week?”.  Possible responses to the latter question were: 1) Yes; 2) No, full-time education; 3) No, home duties; 4) No, disabled/retired; 5) No, other (specify).   

7. Classifications used:

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

(a) Industry:   Based on the questions “Who is this person’s main employer?  1) Government; 2) Other (specify)” and “What kind of activities does this person undertake at the main place of work?”.  For coding industry, the national classification with 10 main groups was used. (Agriculture and hunting, Mining and quarrying, Manufacturing,  Electricity, gas and water,  Construction, Wholesale, retail trade and restaurants,  Transport, storage and communication,  Financing, insurance, real estate and business, Community, social and personal services, Activities not actually defined.

)

(b) Occupation:  Based on the question “In the main job held last week, what was this person’s occupation?”.  For coding occupation, the national classification with 7 main groups  was used (Professional & Technical, Administrative & Managerial, Clerical & Related, Sales Workers, Service Workers, Agriculture & Fisheries,  Production Workers)

(c) Status in employment: Based on the question “In the main job held last week, was this person: 1) An employee; 2) An employer; 3) Self-employed; 4) An unpaid family worker; 5) Other (specify)?”.  For coding status in employment, the above five groups were used.

(d) Level of education: Based on the questions “Has this person undertaken any studies or training in an institution other than primary or secondary school?” and “What is this person’s highest qualification?”.  Possible responses to the latter question were: 1) No qualification; 2) Primary School Leaving Certificate; 3) Colony/Fiji Junior Certificate; 4) Form 5/6/7 Certificate (specify); 5) Other Certificate (specify); 6) Diploma (specify); 7) Degree (specify); 8) Other (specify).  For coding level of education the above eight groups were used.          

8. Main differences compared with the previous census:

No major differences.

9. Publication of the census results:

The final results of the census were published in November 2003 in “Tuvalu National Census 2002”.

The organization responsible for the publication is the Central Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Industries, Vaiaku, Funafuti.

The census data are also available in the form of diskettes, CD-ROM and on the website of the Central Statistics Division (www.spc.int/prism/Country/TV/Stats).