General Census of Population and Housing 2002
Rwanda, 2001 - 2002
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RWA-NISR-CENSUS-2002-v01
General Census of Population and Housing 2002
RGPH 2002
Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Rwanda | RWA |
Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]
The General Census of Population and Housing held in August 2002, which was the third in Rwanda, after those of 1978 and 1991, was organized at a particularly crucial period in the history of the country.
It was carried out some eight years after the war and the genocide which took away the lives of a large number of Rwandans and caused the displacement of several others both within and outside the national territory. Substantial return migration was recorded immediately after the end of these tragic events and during the years that followed and prior to the third census.
All these factors mentioned above contributed to the profound modifications in the size and composition of the population, as well as in its structure and spatial distribution over the national territory and in the main determinants of its internal dynamics. The demographic landscape of Rwanda thus underwent obvious modifications during the decade of the 1990s and the impact of these mutations could no longer be measured using data collected in 1991 nor through projections using such data which had, inevitably become outdated and useless.
The General Census of Population and Housing held in August 2002, which was the third in Rwanda, after those of 1978 and 1991, was organized at a particularly crucial period in the history of the country.
It was carried out some eight years after the war and the genocide which took away the lives of a large number of Rwandans and caused the displacement of several others both within and outside the national territory. Substantial return migration was recorded immediately after the end of these tragic events and during the years that followed and prior to the third census.
All these factors mentioned above contributed to the profound modifications in the size and composition of the population, as well as in its structure and spatial distribution over the national territory and in the main determinants of its internal dynamics. The demographic landscape of Rwanda thus underwent obvious modifications during the decade of the 1990s and the impact of these mutations could no longer be measured using data collected in 1991 nor through projections using such data which had, inevitably become outdated and useless.
The main objective of the 2002 census was thus to fill this gap by providing updated data of good quality and within a reasonably short time, for use in the process of reconstruction of the country, but also for the planning towards a coherent and sustainable socio-economic development in the future.
The National Census Service has the pleasure to make available to the public, this document which represents the first among a series of publications which have been designed to disseminate the final results of the third General Census of Population and Housing which it conducted between the 16th and 30th of August 2002.
The present report is designed to respond to the most urgent needs of users, without necessarily covering all areas they may be interested in. More detailed and comprehensive analyses are in progress and shall be completed within the first semester of 2004.
This report employs both summary tables and illustrations, accompanied by synoptic commentaries, to bring out the main consolidated findings from the third Census of Rwanda relating to most of the key variables covered except those relating to the dynamics of the population (fertility, mortality and migration). The statistical processing of information relating to these latter variables is in progress and details shall soon be made public.
Issues covered in this report include information on the size and various characteristics of the population and its living conditions disaggregated by urban/rural residence and by Province of residence. Details relating to smaller administrative units of the country (Districts, Secteurs and Cellules) are not treated in this report. They shall subsequently be made available to the various regional planning services and to the general public in the form of special publications and through other channels of dissemination.
Essentially, this report presents three basic categories of information. The first section covers information relating to the size and spatial distribution of the population as well as to details on its basic demographic characteristics (age, sex and marital status). The second section provides details on the socio-cultural and socio-economic characteristics of the population (languages spoken, religious affiliation, literacy and educational characteristics, disability and economic activity). Finally, the last section attempts a summary analysis of the size and structure of households, their housing and other living conditions as well as details relating to access by the population to some basic modern facilities within all households in Rwanda.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Individual and Household
Version
v2.1 edited, anonymized public use microdata sample (PUMS).
2005-02-10
This is the first version of the Census. It 's an edited, anonymous public use microdata sample (PUMS).
Scope
The themes chosen for in-depth analyses took into consideration the major areas of national life where data needs and information had been deficient. National expertise in the various domains was then recruited to carry out the analyses. The following 16 themes have been covered by the in-depth analyses :
- Population Size and Distribution
- Socio-cultural Characteristics of the population
- Marital Status and Nuptiality
- Fertility
- Mortality
- Migration and urbanisation
- Characteristics of ordinary households
- Housing and its environment
- Educational characteristics of the population
- Economic Activity
- The situation of women in Rwanda
- The situation of elderly persons in Rwanda
- The situation of handicapped persons
- The situation of children in Rwanda
- Projections of the Population of Rwanda - 2002-2022
- The standard of living of households in Rwanda
| Topic | Vocabulary | URI |
|---|---|---|
| DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION [14] | CESSDA | http://www.nesstar.org/rdf/common |
Coverage
National coverage
Cell level
The survey covered all population
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Census Service | Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning |
| Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| European Union | EU |
| United Nations Population Fund | UNFPA |
| United Kingdom | UK |
| The Netherlands |
Sampling
No sampling method used. It was the census.
No deviation
Survey instrument
The General Census of Population and Housing 2002 was carried out using 2 types of questionnaires:
- Private household
- Collective household
In addition to these questionnaires, another questionnaire for collecting information on household agricultural and animal breeding activities was also designed to be administered at the same time in all households during census enumeration.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-08-16 | 2002-08-30 | |
| 2001-08-16 | 2001-08-30 | Pilot |
- Face-to-face [f2f]
| Name | Affiliation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| National Census Service | Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning | SNR |
The Census of August 2002 mobilised some 12000 field enumerators 2500 team leaders and controllers,12 provincial supervisors, 4 regional coordinators.
During the field census count, each Enumeration Area was assigned to a field enumerator. Each Team Leader had the task of supervising the daily work of some 5 field enumerators. In turn, he was under the supervision of a census controller at the District level.
The data so collected was properly checked on the field by the supervisors at various levels and then forwarded to the Census Office where it was again submitted to further detailed scrutiny before being classified and then stocked or archived by administrative unit.
The 2002 census of Rwanda was sanctioned by the Presidential Decree n° 43/01 of the 26th December 1999, as modified by the Presidential Decree n°28/01 of the 10th November 2000. The third general census of population and housing in Rwanda, was conducted over the entire national territory, from the 16th to the 30th of August 2002 exactly eleven years after the second census which was organised in 1991. Its main objective was to update knowledge on the population of the country especially after the difficult times it had gone through during the war and the genocide of the 1990s.
The census operation entailed an exhaustive count of the resident population in each Cellule, Secteur, District and Province in Rwanda as at the date of the 15th of August 2002. This involved the enumeration without omission or double-counting of every resident and household which had earlier been identified during the census mapping phase.
The Census of August 2002 mobilised some 12000 field enumerators 2500 team leaders and controllers,12 provincial supervisors, 4 regional coordinator, to gather information on every member of each household along with their housing conditions, using a questionnaire which was far more detailed than those of the censuses of 1978 and 1991. The National Census Service is the technical institution which was created to organise the preparation and conduct of the 3rd census and the processing and analyses of the data so collected.
The approaches employed for the conduct of the 3rd Census of Rwanda complied with the norms and procedures internationally prescribed for the 1980-2000 round of censuses. The main field count involved a direct interview between the field enumerator and the respondent, who was usually the head of the household.
The census household questionnaire carried more than 50 questions or variables and on the average, each enumerator completed some 16 of them per day.
Thanks to the size and geographical configuration of the country, its use of one main language and its high population densities, it was relatively easier to carry through the field operations without any major difficulties. The field methods and data collection instruments to be used were first subjected to a pretest through a pilot census which was organised covering a nationally representative sample of the population, exactly one year before the Census count itself - that is from the 16th to the 30th of August 2001.
The lessons learned from this pilot operation enabled the subsequent judicious partitioning of the entire national territory into Enumeration Areas (Eas), thanks to the maps that had been produced during the earlier census mapping phase.
During the field census count, each Enumeration Area was assigned to a field enumerator. Each Team Leader had the task of supervising the daily work of some 5 field enumerators. In turn, he was under the supervision of a census controller at the District level.
The data so collected was properly checked on the field by the supervisors at various levels and then forwarded to the Census Office where it was again submitted to further detailed scrutiny before being classified and then stocked or archived by administrative unit.
In order to ascertain the quality and reliability of the data collected during the 3rd Census in terms of coverage and content, a special quality-check field operation was organised three weeks after the field census count. This Post-enumeration Survey (PES) was conducted from the 23rd of September to the 2nd of October 2002 in strict conformity with the norms relating to sampling (using the updated national sampling frame, drawing a nationally representative sample, selecting a set of variables to be tested for coverage and content errors, etc…). A total of 120 EAs was sampled from 82 Districts. The procedure employed involved a one-stage stratified sample with three main strata: Kigali City, other urban areas and rural areas.
The PES revealed that the overall level of coverage of the 3rd Census was 97% and confirmed the consistency between the approaches and conditions under which the both field operations had been conducted.
Data processing
The coding, data entry and tabulation phases of data processing entailed prior special training of coders, data entry staff and computer analysts and programmers whom the Census Office had identified using specific criteria and testing.
The role of this staff was to participate in the various stages of processing of the data contained in the household questionnaires using adapted and the most recent computer equipment and applications which subsequently rendered data tabulations and analyses much easier.
Data appraisal
In order to ascertain the quality and reliability of the data collected during the 3rd Census in terms of coverage and content, a special quality-check field operation was organised three weeks after the field census count. This Post-enumeration Survey (PES) was conducted from the 23rd of September to the 2nd of October 2002 in strict conformity with the norms relating to sampling (using the updated national sampling frame, drawing a nationally representative sample, selecting a set of variables to be tested for coverage and content errors, etc…). A total of 120 EAs was sampled from 82 Districts. The procedure employed involved a one-stage stratified sample with three main strata: Kigali City, other urban areas and rural areas.
The PES revealed that the overall level of coverage of the 3rd Census was 97% and confirmed the consistency between the approaches and conditions under which the both field operations had been conducted.
Data Access
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda | MINECOFIN | www.statistics.gov.rw | info@statistics.gov.rw |
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes |
- The general population and housing census was instituted by the Presidential arrêté N° 43/01 of the 26/12/1999 subsequently modified by the Presidential arrêté N° 28/01 of the 10/11/2000 - All physical and moral persons must have himself enumerated by welcoming the census agents and by providing them with accurate responses to all the questions found in the census questionnaire - Whosoever shall refuse to respond or shall provide false responses shall be liable to legal sanctions under article 5 of decree-law N° 18/77 of 26th July 1977 relating to the organisation of statistical activities. - All personal information contained in the census questionnaires that relates to the professional and family life of individuals and in general, to private events and behaviour, shall never be made public by the services handling such information. Neither shall such information be used subsequently for purposes of taxation nor for other forms of economic repression. Any person who shall participate in whatever capacity, in the preparation, execution or data processing and analyses phases of this census are bound by professional secrecy and defaulters shall be liable to legal sanctions under article 4 of decree-law N° 18/77 of the 26th of July 1977 relating to the organisation of statistical activities. |
The data and other materials contained here are for public use and accessible to all.
"National Institute of Statistics Rwanda, General Census of Population and Housing 2002(RGPH 2002), Version 1.0 of the public use dataset (January 2004), provided by the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda www....................."
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
(c) 2012, National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Director General | National Institute of Statistics Rwanda | info@statistics.org.rw | www.statistics.org.rw |
Metadata production
DDI-RWA-NISR-CENSUS-2002-v01
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda | NISR | Government | Document of study |
2012-06-14
Metadata version
Version 1.0 (June 2012).