Definitions
Back to Methodology Reports index Census metadata The full metadata set for the 1996 population census, of which this report is one element, is made up of the following components:
Introduction In October 1996, the people of South Africa were counted as members of a unified democratic nation for the first time. More than 100 000 enumerators and supervisors visited households in suburbs, informal settlements, farms and institutions, countrywide. Their aim was to collect information on every individual who was present in the country on the night of 9-10 October 1996. There were three main phases in Census ‘96. In the first, demarcation, the whole country was divided into small geographic areas with clearly distinguishable boundaries called enumerator areas (EAs). In the second phase, enumeration, an attempt was made to visit each dwelling (some nine million in all!) and ensure that a questionnaire giving information on each person in each household was completed. In phase three, processing, the data from the census was captured on computers. This information was then analysed, checked and disseminated in various forms and products. Each of these phases involved specific methodologies which were, themselves, based on a set of concepts and definitions. Indeed, any census demands a range of commonly-shared terms: unless specified meanings are attached to all the terms and concepts used in all phases of a population census, it is impossible to report in any meaningful way on the outcomes of the exercise. Defining terms and concepts is a controversial process. What appear, on the face of it, to be simple distinctions between, for example, urban and non-urban areas, or between employment and unemployment, can be the subject of hotly-contested debates. The definition attached to a household, or an economically-active person, can dramatically influence the manner in which the results of a census are reported and analysed. This report, which forms part of the overall metadata set for Census ’96, sets out the meaning and definition of the most important terms and concepts used in the 1996 population census. As such, it is an indispensable aid to anyone wishing to probe beneath the statistics reported on in census products, thereby reaching the underlying structure of definition and common meaning necessary to analyse and interpret the outcomes of Census ’96. The definitions presented are as operationally applied in Census ’96. However, processes of transformation within South Africa, especially with regard to the boundaries of local authorities, magisterial districts, district councils, etc., may lead to changes in some of the definitions in the future.
Census ‘96: Definition of terms and concepts A person who lives in a household as a paying guest is regarded as a lodger or boarder. A population census is the process of counting the number of people, at a given point in time in a country, and collecting information about their demographic, social and economic characteristics. The process includes the processing, analysis and dissemination of the information collected. Census date The census date was the date officially gazetted by government when Census ’96 would take place. This date was 10 October 1996. Census geography Census geography is about how the country was geographically divided prior to the night of 9-10 October in order to facilitate the census processes of field operations and logistics, processing and analysis, and reporting of results. The geography is essentially a hierarchical system of nested areas which varies according to the level of information that is required. The lowest level of the hierarchy consists of approximately 94 000 enumerator areas (EAs). These are aggregated upwards into spatial units of varying sizes. The hierarchy for enumeration activities differed slightly from the one for reporting activities. The hierarchical organisation for enumeration was guided by administrative needs for field operations. In this respect, 30-50 EAs were grouped together to form a control unit which was managed by one controller from a field station. Control units in turn were grouped together into magisterial districts, the latter being legally established administrative units. Magisterial districts were in turn grouped into regions under the control of a regional manager. The regions were in turn grouped into provinces, which are also established administrative units. The hierarchy for reporting purposes follows relatively closely on administrative areas. EAs are grouped into 843 local authorities, 48 (local government) district or metropolitan council areas, nine provinces, and the country as a whole. The hierarchy is flexible depending upon what is needed from the census process; for example, EAs can be aggregated into urban areas (and other local authorities) and non-urban areas. Flexibility is important in view of special requests for census information which may be made by users. Census night Census night is the reference period of the census, i.e., the night of 9-10 October 1996. Each person in each household in the country was asked to indicate where they were on that night. Nevertheless, enumeration carried on until 31 October 1996. In a few isolated cases enumeration carried on until the first week of November 1996. Census products These refer to output from census activities and data published and disseminated in printed and electronic media. Electronic media include CD ROMs, disks, the Internet, etc. For more information refer to the list of census products. Census questionnaires The census questionnaires were the forms that were used to count the people of the country and to collect information on all individuals who were in the country on census night (9-10 October 1996). There were five different questionnaires that were used:
Child A person who has not yet attained the age of 15 years. Child, not yet a scholar A child who is not yet in school, and who is usually below the age of six years. Citizenship The country to which a person belongs by legal right is that person’s country of citizenship. That country may or may not be one’s country of birth. A person may be a citizen of more than one country. The fact that a person holds a resident’s permit – whether temporary or permanent – of a country does not make one a citizen of that country. City/town A city or town is a built-up area (including vacant space) within a proclaimed municipal or local authority boundary, with various structures, such as houses, flats, hotels, boarding houses, old age homes, caravan parks, school and university hostels, built according to municipal by-laws. Children-ever-born During Census ’96, women were asked to indicate their birth histories. Two categories of live-births were identified:
Country of birth Any person born anywhere within the borders of South Africa, including the former Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei (the TVBC states) and the former self-governing territories (Gazankulu, Lebowa, KwaZulu, KwaNdebele, KaNgwane and Qwaqwa) was regarded as having been born in South Africa. People born outside these boundaries were regarded as having been born elsewhere. A coding list was established for coding country of birth for those born elsewhere. Before enumeration for Census ’96 could be undertaken, the country had to be divided into small pieces of land known as enumeration areas. The process of dividing the country into these areas is called demarcation. Diplomatic personnel All the staff of a foreign mission or country and their family members residing in South Africa during the census were regarded as diplomatic personnel and as such were not enumerated. South African citizens in South African missions or embassies abroad were however enumerated, since diplomatic soil is regarded as being part of South Africa. Disability In the census questionnaire, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not there were any people with serious visual, hearing, physical or mental disabilities in the household. The seriousness of the disability was not clearly defined. Rather, the respondent’s perceptions of seriousness were relied on. Disabled person A person with a visual, hearing, physical or mental handicap that may hinder him or her from performing certain activities of daily living efficiently was defined as a disabled person. Disabilities have varying degrees of severity. See disability. Dwelling, informal Dwelling structures which are not erected according to approved architectural plans or on planned sites in municipal or local authority areas, or are on unproclaimed land in both urban and non-urban areas, or are in makeshift structures in relatively high density concentrations in rural areas, are regarded as informal dwellings. Dwelling, occupied An occupied dwelling was a premises (visiting point or physical address) that was inhabited by one or more households on census night. An occupied dwelling may have been a house, room, flat or apartment, shack, hut, tent, caravan, houseboat, shop, school, etc. Dwelling, special A special dwelling is one which is not privately occupied by a household. It is usually an institution such as a prison, hotel, hostel, home for the aged, etc. During enumeration, special dwellings had their own specially-trained enumerators, following special procedures distinct from those used by enumerators for ordinary households. Enumerators for special dwellings were called special enumerators. The list of special dwellings (or institutions or private dwellings) is as follows:
Dwelling, traditional A traditional dwelling is one made of clay, mud, thatch or other traditional materials. It can be round or square in shape. Traditional dwellings may be found as single units or in clusters. Dwelling, type of Type of dwelling refers to various types of structures used for accommodation. Such structures include houses, townhouses, flats/apartments, hostels, huts, informal dwellings such as shacks, semi-detached houses, etc. Dwelling, unoccupied or vacant An unoccupied or vacant dwelling is a premises (visiting point or physical address) intended for living purposes but which was not occupied on census night. An unoccupied dwelling may have been an empty house or a flat in an apartment block, shack, dilapidated house or hut, caravan, houseboat, etc. An EA is an acronym for an enumeration or enumerator area. It is a pocket-sized piece of country which was to be visited by an enumerator during Census ’96. The people in each EA were counted by means of administering questionnaires. The country was divided into approximately 94 000 EAs for Census ’96. See Enumeration area. Economic activity Economic activity refers to the type of work a person does; for example, installing pipes in new houses, selling fruit and vegetables, breeding cattle, teaching primary school children, cleaning and cooking. Economic sector In the census questionnaire, economic sector refers to the main economic activity or industry in which the individual works, e.g., mining, construction, retail sales, personal services, financial services, etc. Economically active person The phrase economically active refers to a person aged 15 years or more who is either employed or unemployed but who is looking for work. In other words, someone who is working or who wants to work and is seeking work is defined as economically active. Education, higher Higher education consists of all education undertaken by those who have completed Standard 10 at an accredited institution. Certificates, degrees and diplomas issued by an accredited institution are all regarded as examples of higher educational qualifications. Education, primary Primary education extends over seven years. It consists of the following school classes: Grades 1 to 2, and Standards 1 to 5 (now called Grades 3 to 7). Education, secondary Secondary education follows on primary education. It extends over a five-year period. It consists of Standards 6 to 9, and Standard 10 or matriculation (now called Grades 8 to 12). Employed person A person who works for pay, profit or family gain. Employee A person who works for an organisation or for an employer for pay, profit or family gain. Employer A person who employs other people in a work situation for pay, profit or family gain. Employment Employment means working for pay, profit or family gain. The term covers formal work for a salary or wage in a business, or a business establishment which has a value added tax (VAT) number, as well as informal work such as making things for sale or selling things or rendering a service in an establishment which has no VAT number. The term (employment) also covers work on a farm or the land, whether for a wage or as part of the household’s farming activities. Employment, formal Formal employment takes place in a business which has a value added tax (VAT) number. A person in formal employment can be self-employed, an employer, an employee or a working family member. Employment, informal Informal employment takes place in a small or micro business without a value added tax (VAT) number. A person in informal employment can be self-employed, an employer, an employee or a working family member. Enumeration Enumeration essentially means counting. This counting takes place by means of administering a census questionnaire to all households in the country, where information on each individual in the household is obtained. It also means administering the questionnaires designed for individuals and special enumeration (in institutions). Enumeration also means getting specific information about each household, for example type of housing and access to piped tap water and electricity, and on each individual, for example age, gender and home language. Enumeration area (EA) An enumeration area (EA) (interchangeably called an enumerator area) is the smallest geographical unit usually allocated to a single enumerator during census enumeration. In other words, it constituted a small piece of land for an enumerator to cover in order to administer a questionnaire during Census ‘96. The size of the majority of EAs varies between 100 and 250 visiting points. Size is influenced by terrain and other topological conditions, as well as by literacy levels of the population, socio-political and administrative boundaries and the population density of the area. For example, a difficult terrain is likely to have fewer visiting points than a formal urban area. This would also be the case where literacy levels are low. Size would also vary with population density, with higher density areas having more visiting points than lower density areas. Enumeration area number An enumeration area number is a unique seven-digit number given to an EA for purposes of record keeping and coding. EA demarcation was done at magisterial district level. Each magisterial district was identified by three digits: one digit identifying the province and two other digits the serial number of the district within the province. The following four digit serial number identifies the EA. The first two of the four digits identifies the EA-type, whether formal urban, informal urban, tribal, etc. Enumeration area type (EA type) Enumeration area type is a classification of EAs according to (human) settlement types, of which there were 15 in the 1996 population census. There were two principles guiding the assignment of an EA to a particular class or type. The first one was the EA’s specific geographical location. The locations considered were whether an EA was situated
The second principle was the kind of dwellings that were predominant within the EA. These two principles led to the locational and settlement types indicated below. EA within the boundaries of proclaimed urban areas, i.e., that has its own municipal or local authority. Such an EA was coded as one of the following:
EA with population concentrations adjacent to a municipal border (the EA must have one common boundary with the proclaimed municipal border). Such an EA was coded as one of the following:
EA situated in non-urban (rural) areas (the EA does not share a common boundary with a proclaimed municipal area). Such an EA was coded as one of the following:
These EA types could be combined into larger units for various purposes. For example, for the purpose of stratification for drawing a sample for the post-enumeration survey (PES) the areas were collapsed into five EA types, namely
Enumeration phase Census ’96 was divided into a number of clearly distinct phases. The first phase consisted of demarcation, or the division of the country into enumeration areas (EAs). The phase of enumeration, or the administration of questionnaires for households, individuals or institutions or visiting points, constituted the second or enumeration phase. Enumerator An enumerator was a person employed for the purpose of enumeration of a specific EA for a specified period of time. In other words, he or she administered questionnaires to collect information on each person in each household who was present in his or her EA on census night. Such a person would have undergone and successfully completed training for enumerators and complied with a particular code of conduct. There were two different types of enumerator. The first type was a general enumerator; the second was a special enumerator. See enumerator, general and enumerator, special for further information. Enumerator area See enumeration area. Enumerator, general A general enumerator was a temporary Stats SA staff member appointed to collect information about people who were living in households in private accommodation, for example, a house, a flat in a block of flats, a shack or a traditional dwelling, on census night. Enumerator, special A special enumerator was appointed to enumerate people in special dwellings (institutions) such as hostels, prisons, hotels and hospitals. Special enumerators also collected information on the homeless or those living on the streets without shelter or in the open. Enumerator’s summary book (09 book) The enumerator’s summary book is popularly known as the 09 book. It is a register of demarcation and listing information pertaining to a particular EA. The information guides an enumerator during the census regarding the location of visiting points (and thus households) that he or she has to visit. The enumerator also used it to record summary information (such as totals by gender) after enumeration had taken place. It identified an EA by province; magisterial district name and EA number; name of the location of the EA (city, town, industrial township, township or suburb, or other area); and by a listing of visiting points in the EA. It also included a description of the EA both in map form (including aerial photographs) and in text form. Field operations during enumeration Field operations during enumeration constituted the process of enumeration, including procedures, logistics and administration. It consisted of recruitment, training and appointment of staff; distribution of materials for enumeration (e.g., forms, questionnaires, etc.); the act of enumeration itself; retrieval of questionnaires from the field; delivery of the questionnaires to the designated processing centres; and finally, payment of fieldworkers. Field station A field station referred to the (field) office of a controller from where he or she based the operations of his or her control unit. Flat/block of flats/apartments A flat or an apartment referred to a dwelling within a block of flats. A block of flats is a structure, usually multistoried, consisting of a number of dwellings, sharing the same residential address, and usually sharing a common entrance, foyer or staircase. Formal work See work, formal. Foreign visitor A citizen of another country who was in South Africa on census night, for whatever reason, and who intended to spend less than three months in the country, was regarded as a foreign visitor. Such a person might have been living with a household, in an hotel or might have been in transit to another country. Form 02 This form was part of the demarcation material. It described (in words) the boundaries of EAs, and was particularly useful where 09 books were not available. Form 09 See enumerator’s summary book. A head of household is the person that the household regards as such, and is usually the person who assumes responsibility for decision-making in the household. The head could be either male or female. There can be more than one head of a household. Head of household, acting A person who assumed decision-making responsibility of the head of household in the absence of the designated head was regarded as the acting head of household. Head of household, female/male A household was regarded as a male-headed or female-headed household depending on the gender of the main decision-maker. Highest school class/standard completed A person who attended school could have successfully completed up to 12 years of schooling on census night. They could have completed Grade 1 (Sub A), Grade 2 (Sub B) or Standard 1 through to Standard 10. Standard 10 was the highest level of school education that could be attained in 1996 (equivalent to 12 years of schooling). Tertiary education could be undertaken after Standard 10, although some forms of post-school education were also available for those who had not completed Standard 10. Homeless persons Homeless persons were defined as those who had no form of shelter on census night. They had no known living address, but could be found spending the whole of census night on street corners or pavements, sleeping under bridges, in doorways, in alleyways, at entrances to buildings or shops, at railway stations, or even sleeping in public toilets. Homeless persons’ questionnaire See questionnaire, homeless persons. Home-maker See housewife. Hostel A hostel is a collective form of accommodation specifically built during the apartheid era for mine, factory, power station, municipal or other employees. Accommodation in hostels may be in single rooms or in dormitories. People who live in hostels are, in general, migrant workers; they often live in the hostels as individuals and not as members of households. However, in recent years, some families have started moving into hostels. A hostel was regarded as a special dwelling that required an enumeration procedure which was different from that used for households. Individual questionnaires were completed by hostel-dwellers who were not part of a household. House A house is a private self-contained dwelling that stands on a stand or piece of land that is separate from other dwellings. House, semi-detached A semi-detached house is one of two houses joined together. Each has its own private ground and no other dwelling below or above it. Household A household consists of a person, or a group of persons, who occupy a common dwelling (or part of it) for at least four days a week and who provide themselves jointly with food and other essentials for living. In other words, they live together as a unit. People who occupy the same dwelling, but who do not share food or other essentials, were enumerated as separate households. For example, people who shared a dwelling, but who bought food and ate separately, were counted as separate households. Visitors, both foreign and South African, as well as boarders who stayed with a household on census night, were counted as part of that household. People who were absent on census night, but were not counted elsewhere (either because they were working, travelling, at a church vigil, at an entertainment centre, and so on), and returned to the household on Tuesday, 10 October, were counted as part of the household. Live-in domestic workers and live-in employees were regarded as separate households. Household number A visiting point may consist of one or more than one household. The first household to be enumerated at that visiting point was assigned as household number 1, on the front cover of the questionnaire, and subsequent ones 2, 3, etc. This number in association with the visiting point number and enumeration area number became the household number. Household relationship The following were identified as household relationships, measured around the head/acting head of household:
Household questionnaire See questionnaire, household. Housewife A person who cares for the home and family. She is alternatively referred to as a home-maker. Hut A hut is one form of traditional dwelling found in non-urban (rural) areas. It is a round structure made or traditional materials such as mud, thatch or grass. In the census questionnaire, all individuals were asked to indicate their income before tax from 1 October 1995 to 30 September 1996. A weekly, monthly or annual income could be indicated, according to 14 income categories which could be equated to each other. Informal dwelling See dwelling, informal. Informal settlement An informal settlement refers to an area consisting mainly of informal dwellings. Informal work See work, informal. Institution For the purpose of Census ’96, an institution was a communal living place or care facility such as a tourist hotel, motel, prison, police cell, home for the aged or the disabled, or hospital. Accommodation for pupils at schools or students at universities, accommodation at children’s homes and orphanages, convents, monasteries and religious retreats, where people were living under the supervision, control or care of others, were also defined as institutions. People in institutions may have been there on a short-term temporary basis, for example an overnight guest at a tourist hotel on census night, or they may have been there on a long-term or permanent basis, for example a child in a children’s home. The distinguishing feature is that they were not living independently, either by themselves or in a household, on census night. Institutional questionnaire See questionnaire, institutional. Language spoken most often at home A coding list of languages was compiled, including the 11 official languages as well as other languages which are spoken in South Africa. Listing All visiting points within an EA were listed in the 09 book during the demarcation phase of Census ’96. A listing refers to a list of visiting points within an EA. Live-in domestic worker For the purpose of the census, a live-in domestic worker was an employee of the household, for example a maid, gardener, driver or child-minder. Domestic workers who were living on the same premises as their employers were enumerated as separate households, and therefore apart from the households in which they were employed. Magisterial district and number A magisterial district was, at the time of Census ’96, the basic administrative area, as determined by the Department of Justice. Administratively, the country is divided into nine provinces; the provinces are in turn divided into 365 magisterial districts. In Census ’96, each magisterial district had a unique name, a unique code number and clearly-defined boundaries. Topographic and cadastral survey maps are available for each magisterial district. Marital status In view of the possibility of a person having more than one marital status, the question on this subject was limited to the marital status of the person at the time of enumeration. The following types of status were identified:
Migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who is absent from home (or country) for more than one month of a year for the purpose of finding work or working. This could be a mine worker, a factory worker or even a gardener or domestic worker. A person away from home (country of origin) but going home every weekend was, nevertheless, regarded as a migrant worker if the total period spent away from home was a month or more in a year. A person who is normally away from home for more than a month in a year, but was at home on census night, was regarded as a migrant worker. Non-contact describes a situation where an enumerator failed to make contact with a household at an address which the enumerator visited. The non-contact would have occurred either because no-one was at home at the time of the visit or because a dwelling was not occupied at the time of the enumeration. The enumerator was required to make at least three visits to the physical address, leaving a note before contacting his or her supervisor (chief enumerator) on the matter. Non-contact form A non-contact form was used to record failure by an enumerator to make contact with a household either because no one was at home at the time of the visit or because a dwelling was not occupied at the time of the visit. Non-urban area Non-urban areas (also referred to as rural areas) fall outside of legally-proclaimed urban areas, and include commercial farms, small settlements and rural villages. See urban area. Not economically active person The phrase not economically active refers to a person who was out of the labour market on census night. Housewives/homemakers, students, scholars, pensioners, retired people and the severely disabled are included among those who are not economically active. Not wishing to work This description refers to a person who is not employed, who is not looking for work, who is not a housewife/ homemaker, scholar/student, retired person/pensioner or a disabled person, and who does not want to work. Occupation refers to the type of work an employed person does; for example, installing pipes in new houses, selling fruit and vegetables, breeding cattle, teaching primary school children, cleaning and cooking. Occupied dwelling See dwelling, occupied. Occupational classification See code list for international (standard) classification of occupations, which forms part of the overall census metadata set. Other urban areas See urban areas, other. Overcount Overcount occurs when individuals or households are enumerated more than once during the census. This can happen when an individual or household migrates from one area where enumeration had been completed to another area where enumeration still had to take place during the time of enumeration. It also occurs in cases where one individual is recorded in two households. See also Undercount. A pensioner is a person in retirement who draws a pension from a previous employer or a pension fund, or receives a state pension. A distinction was not made between those receiving a pension from an employer or pension fund and those receiving a state pension in Census ’96. Personal questionnaire See questionnaire, personal. Population census See census. Population group Respondents were asked to indicate the population group into which they would classify themselves. Therefore self-description, rather than any other method, was used for classification purposes. The categories were: 1. African/Black.
Post-enumeration survey (PES) The post-enumeration survey is a sample survey that was conducted shortly after fieldwork for the census had been completed. A stratified sample of 800 EAs were drawn and a special questionnaire was administered. The main aim on a PES is to measure the error of coverage (under- and/or overcount) as well as errors of content. Publicity See publicity campaign. Publicity campaign This refers to the variety of activities used to inform the people of South Africa about Census ’96 and to encourage every person in South Africa to co-operate during enumeration. Various media were used during the campaign, including television, radio, and print. A grassroots campaign, with posters and billboards distributed for display on taxis and buses, and the production of road shows, was also launched. In addition, pamphlets were sent to churches, comics were sent to all schools for distribution amongst the scholars, and a competition on the census was held for schools. Questionnaires were used to record information on the number of people in the country during the census and their demographic, social and economic characteristics. There were five types of enumeration questionnaire used in Census ’96: household questionnaires, institutional questionnaires, personal questionnaires, summary questionnaires for hostels and questionnaires for homeless persons. They are defined separately in this glossary. Questionnaire, homeless persons A version of the institutional questionnaire was adapted to list and collect information on homeless persons. For more information, see questionnaire, institutional. Questionnaire, household This questionnaire was used to enumerate persons living in households. It contained two sections – on each individual, and on the household itself. Thus the age, sex, education, employment status and annual income of each person in the household was collected in the individual section. Information on access to water, electricity, toilet facilities, telephones and refuse removal was collected from the household as a whole. A single questionnaire accommodated a maximum of nine persons. A second questionnaire was used when a household had more than nine members. Questionnaire, institutional The institutional questionnaire, technically known as the enumerator’s book for special enumeration, was a one-line-per-person form for listing persons (and their selected characteristics) living in institutions and non-private dwellings such as hotels, hospitals, military barracks, prisons, etc. The form excluded hostels. Instead, contents of the institutional questionnaire were summarised in a summary book for hostels, and residents of hostels completed either a personal or household questionnaire, depending on their particular circumstances. This form for institutions was also adapted to list homeless persons. Questionnaire, personal This questionnaire was used in enumerating single individuals who lived in hostels, mining or farm compounds. Individuals enumerated in this manner were not living together as households even though they may have been sharing a room with another person or with other people. In cases where a worker’s family stayed with him or her, the worker and his or her family should have been enumerated on the normal household questionnaire. Questionnaire return number The questionnaire return number is the serial number assigned to each completed questionnaire in an EA, with the first completed questionnaire having been assigned a 1 (unity) and the subsequently completed ones assigned sequential numbers. If a household was enumerated on two questionnaires, each questionnaire had a separate return number although the return numbers would be consecutive. A refusal form was filled in by an enumerator when a household refused to answer the questionnaire. Refusals A refusal occurred when a household refused to answer the questionnaire. In these circumstances the enumerator filled in a refusal form. Every effort was made by senior census officials to persuade the household to take part in the interview in those households where refusals occurred. Relationship (to the head or acting head of the household) Each person in the household was asked to indicate his or her relationship to the head or acting head of the household. The list of relationships which could be specified were as follows:
Religion/denomination/belief This question in the census questionnaire was optional. The objective was to obtain information on the religious affiliations of the people in the country according to denomination (if applicable). Persons with no religion/belief could, if they wished, be identified as such. Retired person A retired person was defined as one who had ended his or her employment. See pensioner. Return number See questionnaire return number. Room(s) Rooms refer to the informal divisions within a dwelling occupied by a household. The number of rooms occupied by a household excluded toilets and bathrooms. One household could occupy one or more rooms, and in some cases, more than one household could share the same room. Rondavel A dwelling characterised by a round perimeter wall and a pointed roof, often but not necessarily made of thatch. A person who is attending primary or secondary school. Self-employed A person who works for himself or herself for financial gain without employing anyone else. Self-enumeration Self-enumeration refers to the practice whereby certain respondents preferred to complete the census questionnaire themselves, instead of letting the enumerator fill in the questionnaire for them (the wish of Stats SA). In these cases, the enumerator left the questionnaire with the household concerned and collected it at a later stage after it had been completed. This was often the case in hard-to-reach households, especially in upper-income areas. Semi-detached house See house, semi-detached. Semi-urban A semi-urban area is not part of a legally proclaimed urban area, but adjoins it. For the purposes of Census ’96, semi-urban areas have been included with non-urban areas. Shack See informal dwelling. Special dwelling(s) See dwelling(s), special. Special enumerator See enumerator, special. Squatter areas The term squatter areas is used as a synonym only for informal settlements. There are three types of squatter areas or informal settlements: those within municipal or local authority areas; those outside municipal or local authority boundaries; and those situated in rural areas. Stand, vacant See vacant stand. Station, field See field station. Student A person who attends a tertiary institution such as a college, a university or a technikon. Student, full-time A person who attends a tertiary institution such as a college, a university or a technikon on a full-time basis. Student, part-time A person who attends a tertiary institution such as a college, a university or a technikon on a part-time basis. A townhouse is a private or self-contained dwelling with private grounds within a common ground for other dwellings. Traditional dwelling See dwelling, traditional. Type of dwelling See dwelling, type of. Undercount occurs when EAs, visiting points, households or individuals are missed during the census. It is usually measured by means of the post-enumeration survey. For the preliminary results only the question on whether a person was enumerated during the census or not was processed to calculate the undercount. For the final results the PES questionnaires were paired off with the census questionnaires to arrive at a more accurate and refined way of calculating undercount. Also see overcount. Unemployment Unemployment has two definitions. The first, the strict definition, or new official definition, refers to a situation where an economically active person had been looking for work four weeks prior to an interview, but had found none. The second, the expanded definition, refers to an economically active person who had no work, and did not specify the time period of job-seeking behaviour at the time of Census ’96, but would accept work if given the opportunity, and could start work immediately. The expanded definition was used in Census ’96, because questions were not asked about job-seeking behaviour in the four weeks prior to census night. Unemployed person An unemployed person is defined as an economically active person who had no work, but who was looking for work at the time of Census ‘96 and found none. Unoccupied dwelling See dwelling, unoccupied. Urban area An urban area is a settlement which has been legally proclaimed as being urban. Other areas are not regarded as urban, even if they are densely populated. In Census ’96, urban areas consisted of formal, informal and other urban areas. Urban areas, formal See city/town. Urban areas, informal An informal urban area is found within a proclaimed urban area (city/town) but consists mainly of informal dwellings. These are the so-called squatter areas. Urban areas, other Other urban areas may include mine, factory and municipal hostels, hospitals, prisons and other institutions contained within a local authority boundary. Usual place of residence The place where a person spends at least four nights a week. The place is identified by name, EA number and type. Vacant dwelling A vacant dwelling was a dwelling unoccupied on census night. Vacant stand A vacant stand refers to a visiting point which was listed in the 09 book but which, during enumeration, was found to have been demolished or no longer existed. A village is a settlement which is not urban or semi-urban (area adjacent to an urban area). Visiting point A visiting point is a physical address or a dwelling where a household or a group of households can be found. It can be a house, shack, vacant stand, hotel, a room in a hostel, shop, house under construction, hut, tent, or a block of flats or apartments. There may be more than one household at one visiting point. It was identified during demarcation and is listed in the enumerator’s summary book or 09 book. Visitor A person who spent the census night with a household but does not live with the household was regarded as a visitor. An activity in which a person is engaged for pay, profit or family gain or a combination of these three options. Work, formal Formal work refers to economic activity in an organisation which is registered for value added tax (VAT) and has a VAT registration number. See employment. Work, informal Informal work refers to economic activity which takes place without a registered value added tax (VAT) number. See employment. Work status Work status refers to whether an individual is self-employed, an employer, an employee or works in a family business. |