ICELAND Introduction As other Nordic countries, Iceland has a strong tradition of population counts and registers. The first census in Iceland was taken in 1703 and was the first nation-wide census in Europe. There were a few partial censuses in the 18th century but the next census covering the whole nation was conducted in 1801. From 1835 to 1860, censuses were conducted every five years but every ten years in the period 18601960. A comprehensive population register was developed in the 1950´s which greatly reduced the need for full censuses. A census was conducted in 1981 and the present plans foresee a new census in 2005. Reasons for the new Census in 2005 Iceland did not carry out any population and housing census in 2000/2001. The next population and housing census, in part register-based, is planned around the year 2005. However, no project plan, financing or legal requirements have been defined yet. Owing to the existence of a comprehensive population register and a register of dwellings, there is little pressure to carry out a full census. The National Register of Persons (Þjóðskrá) is run by the national statistical institute Hagstofa Íslands (Statistics Iceland in English) as an administrative register updated on a daily basis. In the frame of the national statistical system, demographic characteristics of the Icelandic population can easily be deduced from these sources at any given point in time. The Land Registry of Iceland (Fasteignamat ríkisins) is responsible for the maintenance of the land register which is a comprehensive register of all land, buildings and dwellings in the country. These main administrative registers – National Register of Persons and Land Registry of Iceland – are operated side by side and with some important linkages. However, there is at present not a linkage between the population register and the land register as regards dwellings in multi-dwelling houses. The existence of such a linkage would allow Iceland to undertake a full register-based population census. Technically, the system of the National Register of Persons could contain an exact reference to any particular dwelling. However, a substantial effort is needed to obtain the basic information on who occupies each dwelling in multi-dwelling houses. The present plans for further development involve the registration of persons in their particular dwellings in order to identify households and undertake complete registerbased population censuses. Experimental projects have already been implemented in selected municipalities. The National Register of Persons will use the same unique identifiers for dwellings as the Land Register. After the information on the exact dwelling of each household has been obtained, it will be possible to link the various statistical population registers to the Land Register and produce tables showing the relationship of household size and structure, as well as the type of accommodation available to households. ICELAND According to the present plans, the main purpose of conducting a population census in 2005 is to obtain the information of in which dwellings each family or household resides. This process would be very similar to the one undertaken in Norway in 2000 and 2001 in connection with the 2000 census round. There, a housing census was carried out through enumeration (in connection with a register-based population census) and selected data from it were entered in the registers of population and buildings. Apart from international comparison at the date of census, creating an exact linkage between the population register and the dwelling variable of the Land Register will also be very useful in the frame of the European program Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC). Information on the registers used by Statistics Iceland for production of statistics is presented in the following paragraphs. In particular, the report gives indications on sources and methods used to provide counts and characteristics of population, including the population tables with reference to 1 January 2001 that are being released as ‘census data’ in order to meet the Eurostat tabulation program for the 2000 round of censuses. The administrative register of population Currently, Statistics Iceland is responsible for maintaining the Icelandic National Register of Persons and for all civil registration in the country. The National Registry is a department within Statistics Iceland and supervises and carries out the registration. The register was established in 1953 on the basis of the 1950 census and a special census taken solely for that purpose in 1952. The purpose of the register is to provide unified, centralised registration of the population for administrative and statistical uses. The population register is maintained and updated continuously by the National Registry. The main variables in the register are: name, ID-number, family number, full residence, sex, marital status, nationality, place of birth, religious affiliation and registration of consensual union. The variables used to identify persons and individual families are the following: o ID-numbers, issued at birth to all children born in Iceland and at first registration to all persons taking up residence in the country. The IDnumber system is the only universal one used in the country; o The family number of a person is his or her own ID-number if he or she is a single person 18 years or older, or the older person of a married couple, a couple registered as living in consensual union (also called registered cohabitational union) or in registered partnership (also called recognised union). In one-parent families the family number is the ID-number of the single parent. Information for updating the register is obtained from various institutions as prescribed in legislation. Those are: ICELAND o Maternity institutions and, in case of home deliveries, midwives (for births). o Ministers of the State Lutheran Church and heads of other religious organizations (for baptisms, marriages and deaths). o District Commissioners (sýslumenn) (deaths, civil marriages, separation certificates and divorces). o Courts (divorces and changes in the custody of children). o The Ministry of Justice (naturalization of foreign nationals and other changes in nationality, adoptions and name changes). There is furthermore a special law on the Icelandic National Register of Persons and Civil Registration, a law on Domicile and a law on the Notification of Change in Residence. Changes in residence must be reported to the municipality to which a person moves. In the capital these changes may be reported to the nearest police station or directly to the National Registry. The National Register of Persons is based on a series of files, with the following two main ancillary sources: o A file for the registration of all changes that occur to a person (Breytingaskrá), with material from the year 1986 onwards so all changes can be traced back to that date (data on changes back to 1977 exist on film and punch cards are available for the period 1953-1977). o A file of registered persons who are removed from the National Register (Horfinnaskrá), in most cases because of death. The National Register plays a central role in most administrative systems in Iceland. It is the single register of persons in the country and is therefore used by virtually all relevant public authorities, e.g.: taxation authorities, the social security system, health system, education system and for official mailing purposes. The register is also used extensively by the private sector, e.g.: the banking system, insurance companies and many larger firms, for information on ID-numbers, addresses and address changes, deaths etc. Within Statistics Iceland, the register is used extensively for statistical purposes. It is used as a sampling frame for all kinds of surveys conducted either by Statistics Iceland or other public or private agencies, normally taking as survey units either the individuals or the households of the sampled individuals (it is the case of the Household Budget Surveys). Furthermore, the National Register of Person forms the basis for population statistics which are published annually and to a limited extent every three months. Thus, the register forms the main source for the Department of Population Statistics, where additional variables from various sources (birth-, deathand marriage reports) are entered by the staff of the Department. In the section above, various limitations of the register were briefly discussed. With regard to the census, the most significant shortcoming of the register is the fact that it does not allow the production of statistics on households and families. The residence of a person is recorded with the code of the municipality and the street and a house number. Different units in multi-dwelling houses are not identified. It is therefore impossible to identify individual families and households in such houses. By using the ICELAND family number it is possible to identify the so called nuclear families, which consist of couples with or without children or a single parent with children. Statistical registers on population changes Several statistical registers also exist at Statistics Iceland. Most of those are initially drawn from the National Register, and then completed and maintained by other departments within Statistics Iceland. Those registers including individual data are listed below. o For statistical purposes copies of the population register are created on given dates every year. Methods have been developed for making the statistical register reflect the situation on those dates as accurately as possible, taking into account the time-lag in the reporting of certain events. In principle, since a copy is created at a given reference date, the registration of events occurring before that date which arrives after a two weeks or longer period is taken into account to definitely establish the ‘statistical register’ at that reference date. This method is applied to derive statistical registers and population figures for the most conventionally used 1 July (mid-year) and 31 December of a calendar year. Traditionally, the Icelandic reference date for official publications was 1 December and this date is still used as reference date for official population figures by administrative divisions. In addition to the copies of the population register, Statistics Iceland maintains the following registers: o A migration register, including internal and international migration data since 1986 derived on monthly basis from the register of changes (Breytingaskrá, one of the ancillary files of the National Register). Machine-readable data is available for the period 1987 onwards. o A register of births is compiled by adding data to the information on births (live births and late foetal deaths) derived from the National Register. Additional data is taken from the birth reports submitted to Statistics Iceland by maternity institutions and midwives. The register contains the following main variables: Name, age, residence, religious affiliation, date of marriage, citizenship, marital and occupational status of parents; place of birth, date and exact time of birth, sex of child, parity (previous life and stillbirths), multiparity, duration of gestation, child’s birth-weight and length. On the basis of this register fertility calculations are made. Machinereadable data on births is now available from the year 1987. o A register of changes in marital status is based on ecclesiastic marriage, civil marriage, separation and divorce data already available in the National Register plus additional data entered explicitly for statistical purposes. Machine-readable data on these events is available from 1987 onwards. o A register on the change of citizenship, recording additional data to the information on change of citizenship available from the National Register of Persons. ICELAND o A register of adoptions with data only kept for statistical purposes. o A register of deaths is derived directly from the National Register of Persons entered from death reports. Machine-readable data is available for the period after 1970. o A register of causes of death is based on information in the register of deaths. Information on causes of deaths is then entered from death certificates, with coding according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-8 for the years 1971–1980, ICD-9 for 1981–1995 and ICD10 from 1996 onwards). The register is used to a considerable extent for medical research. Those who obtain permission from the Data Protection Commission to use the register send a list of ID-numbers to Statistics Iceland of those persons they wish to investigate. Statistics Iceland then links these ID-numbers to the register of causes of death. Production and dissemination of population statistics The statistical registers include all persons registered in the National Register of Persons, whether or not they reside in the country at that time and irrespective of nationality. However, the population statistics only include persons with residence in Iceland on the reference date. On the basis of the registers, distribution by age and sex is produced, by administrative divisions (municipalities, parishes of the State Lutheran Church), by other geographic locations, by marital status, by religious organizations, by citizenship and place (country) of birth. Counts of nuclear families by size, type and residence are also made. According to various laws, official population counts refer to 1 December of each year. However since 1997, population counts for alternative dates are also produced and published on the basis of statistical register. The 31 December population structure is actually published in February or March each subsequent year. Traditional statistics on vital events, published by Statistics Iceland, include fertility, death rates, marriage and migration. All persons domiciled in Iceland at the time of death are included in the statistics. In the case of births, the mother’s domicile at the time of the birth determines whether the child is included in the statistics or not. The criterion for inclusion of marriages and divorce in official statistics is that two out of three possible domiciles must be in Iceland. These domiciles are, in the case of marriage, domicile of the bride, the bridegroom and of the couple after marriage, and in the case of divorce, the domicile of the couple before divorce and of the man and the woman after the divorce. Reports on population and vital statistics have been published since 1911 on a five- or ten-year basis. Demographic reports are also published in Monthly Statistics, the Statistical Yearbook (from 1991) and in news releases. This country report is based on internal documents updated by Statistics Iceland for the purposes of this project.