INTERNATIONAL
RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOUSING
TOPICS
for the 2020 Round of Population and
Housing Censuses
United Nations Statistics Division
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Content
 Main objectives of conducting housing
censuses
 Implementation of housing topics in the 2010
round of censuses
 Recommendations for the 2020 round of
censuses
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main goals of conducting housing censuses


Collecting information on:
 supply of housing units
o size of housing units and collective living quarters
 structural characteristics and facilities
o of living quarters, buildings, households
Developing benchmark statistics for building and
construction statistics collected through administrative
registers
 Continues up-to-date statistics
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Implementation of housing topics -2010 round

Census questionnaires of 124 countries - 27 in Africa, 18 in
North America, 6 in South America, 27 in Asia, 24 in Europe, 22
in Oceania – were compared with the recommended
housing topics based on the questions and classifications

National census questions were matched with the
recommended topics in accurate manner to analyze what
extent the recommended topics is implemented by the
countries
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main findings – core topics
Figure 1. Proportion of countries implementing core topics, 2010 round
Living quarters -type of
74
Occupancy s tatus
34
Owners hip-type of
35
Room s -num ber of
77
Water s upply s ys tem
61
Drinking water-m ain s ource of
38
Toilet-type of
80
Sewage dis pos al
49
Bathing facilities
52
Kitchen-availability of
37
Fuel us ed for cooking
61
Lighting and/or electricity-type of
69
Solid was te dis pos al-m ain type of
37
Occupancy by one or m ore hous eholds
20
Building-type of
44
Cons truction m aterial of outer walls
62
Tenure
86
ICT devices -availability of
75
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Per cent
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main findings – non-core topics
Figure 2. Proportion of countries implementing non-core topics, 2010 round
Bedrooms, number of
41
Useful floor space
27
Heating - type and energy used for
29
Hot water - availability of
19
Piped gas - availability of
7
Use of housing unit
18
Year or period of construction
46
No. of dwellings in the building
9
Construction material of floor/roof
52
Elevator - availability of
Farm building
7
0
State of repair
7
Rental/owner housing costs
23
Furnished/unfurnished
11
Cars - number of
61
Durable household appliances
Avaialble outdoor space
53
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Per cent
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main findings – regional pattern
Figure 3. Proportion of countries including topics on ow nership and tenure in
their housing censuses, 2010 round, by region
89
Africa
30
 Very
low interest for
ownership status
except Europe
85
Asia
30
79
79
Europe
Europe
89
America, North
22
100
America, South
 Both topics are core
17
collected
information on both
topics
86
Oceania
14
86
Total
35
0
20
40 Per cent 60
Ownership
80
100
Tenure
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main findings – regional pattern

Figure 5. Proportion of countries including topics on w ater supply system and
source of drinking w ater, 2010 round, by region
48
Africa
52
56
Asia
26
4
Europe
67

89
67
America, South
83
46
Oceania
77
38
Total
61
0
20
Only in Asia, more
countries are interested
in collecting data on
source of drinking
water, rather than the
type of the water supply
system

Quite a few countries
collected additional
information on source of
drinking water referring
to special treatmentsboiling, filtering - and
the frequency of
accessing water
22
America, North
Both topics are core
40 Per cent 60
80
100
Source of drinking water
Water supply system
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Additional topics covered by countries- not in the P&R






Availability of space for car parking
Position of dwelling in the building
Availability of recycling system for disposing garbage
Year of moving in the housing unit
Sources of income
Ownership of secondary/other housing unit
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Recommendations for the 2020 round
No.
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2
3
4
5
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9
10
11
United
Living quarter
Collective
Housing
living
unit
quarter
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Topic
Living quarters – type of
Location of living quarters
Occupancy status
Ownership – type of
Rooms – number of
Bedrooms – number of
Useful floor space
Water supply system
Drinking water - main source of
Toilet – type of
Sewage disposal
Solid waste disposal – main type
of
12
♦
13
Bathing facilities
♦
14
Kitchen – availability of
♦
15
Fuel used for cooking
♦
Lighting and/or electricity – type
of
16
♦
17
Heating - type and energy used
○
18
Hot water - availability of
○
19
Piped gas - availability of
○
20
Use of housing unit
○
Occupancy by one or more
Nations21Workshop
on Revision 3 of Principles
households
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Building
Househol
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♦ Core topic
□ Core topic,
derived
○ Additional
topic
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and Recommendations for♦Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Living quarter
Collective
Housing
living
unit
quarter
Building
Household
No.
22
Topic
Occupants – number of
23
Building – type of
24
Year or period of construction
Dwellings in the building number of
Position of dwelling in the
building
○
○
○
○
○
♦
♦
29
Accessibility to dwelling
Construction material of
outer walls
Construction material of floor
and roof
○
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30
Elevator - availability of
○
31
Farm building
○
○
○
32
State of repair
○
33
Age and sex of the reference
person of the household
♦
34
Tenure
♦
35
Rental and housing costs
○
36
Furnished/unfurnished
37
ICT devices – availability of
♦
38
Cars – number of available
○
39
Durable household appliances
– availability of
○
25
26
27
28
♦
♦
□
♦
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United Nations Workshop
on
Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations○for Population and Housing
40
Outdoor space – access to
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Recommendations for 2020 round of censuses
Main revisions
 Two new topics – additional (non-core) topics
 Position of dwelling in the building
 Accessibility to dwelling
 Revisions in the classification of :
 Bathing facilities
 Building by type
 Construction materials of outer walls, roof and
floor
 Tenure
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions –New topics
Position of dwelling in the building (Non-core )
The following classification of dwellings by
position in the building is recommended:
1. Dwelling on one floor only
1.1 Dwelling below the ground floor
1.2 Dwelling on the ground floor of the
building
1.3 Dwelling on the 1st or 2nd floor of the
building
1.4 Dwelling on the 3rd or 4th floor of the
building
1.5 Dwelling on the 5th floor of the building
or higher
2. Dwellings on two or more floors
2.1 Dwelling on the ground floor of
the building or below ground level
2.2 Dwelling on the 1st or 2nd floor of
the building
2.3 Dwelling on the 3rd or 4th floor of
the building
2.4 Dwelling on the 5th floor of the
building or higher
For dwellings on two or more floors,
information should be provided with
reference to the lowest floor level of the
dwelling.
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions –New topics
Accessibility to dwelling (Non-core topics)
The following classification of accessibility to the front door of the
dwelling/housing unit is recommended, based on the presence of
ramps, steps, and lifts:
1. Access with no steps or ramp
2. Access by ramp
3. Access by disabled stair lift
4. Access using lift only (though the building may
have staircases as well)
5. Access by using only steps
6. Access only by using both lift and steps
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions- Classifications
Bathing facilities (Core topic)
The recommended classification of
housing units by availability and type of
bathing facilities is as follows:
1. With fixed bath or shower within
housing unit
2. Without fixed bath or shower within
housing unit
2.1 Fixed bath or shower available
outside housing unit
2.1.1 For exclusive use
2.1.2 Shared
2.2 No fixed bath or shower
available
Alternatively, the following classification
may be more appropriate in certain
circumstances:
1. Separate room for bath or shower within
the housing unit
2. No separate room for bath or shower but
bathing space available within the housing
unit (for example it may be in an open area
around the well within the housing unit, in
the courtyard)
3. Bathing room available but outside the
housing unit for exclusive use
4. Shared bathing room outside the
housing unit
5. No specific bathing room available
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions- Classifications
Buildings by type (Core topic)
1. Residential buildings
1.1 . Buildings containing a single
housing unit
1.1.1 Detached
1.1.2 Attached
1.2 Buildings containing more than
one housing unit
2.2.1 Up to 2 floors
2.2.2 From 3 to 4 floors
2.2.3 From 5 to 10 floors
2.2.4 Eleven floors or more
1.3 Buildings for persons living in
institutions
1.4 Other residential buildings
2. Non-residential buildings
 Additional categories for
non-residential buildings
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions- Classifications
Construction material of outer walls
(Core topic)
1. Burnt clay (bricks, blocks, panels), stone,
concrete
2. Unburnt clay, mud, earth
3. Wood
4. Bamboo
5. Corrugated sheets
6. Prefabricated units
7. Other materials
Construction materials of floor
and roof (Non-core topic)
1. Tile
2. Concrete
3. Metal sheeting
4. Wood
5. Bamboo
6. Palm, straw
7. Mud
8. Plastic sheeting
9. Other materials
Classifications for two topics are introduced
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014
Main revisions- Classifications
Tenure (core topic)
1. Household owns housing unit
2. Household rents all or a part of housing unit
2.1 As a main tenant
2.2 As a subtenant
3. Household occupies housing unit partly free of rent
4. Household occupies housing unit wholly free of rent
5. Household occupies housing unit under some other
arrangement
 Simplification of the
exiting categories –
member of household owns
housing unit or rents
housing unit
 New category for
distinguishing partly
or wholly free of rent
United Nations Workshop on Revision 3 of Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing
Censuses and Evaluation of Census Data, Amman 19 – 23 October 2014