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Tahu Kukutai

11 April 2012

University of Waikato

Ethnic diversity in the population census: A global analysis

Victor ThompsonRider University

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• Theories of ethnic counting• Background on Ethnicity Counts? project• Data analysis

if countries count by ethnicityhow ethnicity operationalisedchange over time

Concluding thoughts

Outline

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• Ethnic counting a political exercise• Imposed from top down• Different policy uses (e.g., monitor

discrimination)• Highlights the local and specific• Champions case study approach

Theories of ethnic counting

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Purpose:

• Describe key patterns of ethnic enumeration over time and place

• Identify conditions associated with different strategies

• Comparative theory of ethnic counting

Ethnicity Counts? project

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Data collected to date1990 round 2000 round 2010 round

Total # countries 238

# countries with census 197 195 169

# coded 131 169 108

% coded 66.5 86.7 63.9

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Ethnic identity vs Civic identity• ethnicity• ethnic nationality• race & colour• ancestry/descent/origin• indigenous group &

tribe• cultural group• language & mother

tongue

• citizenship• civic nationality• migration status• place of birth• parental place of birth

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Ethnic nationality: Estonia

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Ethnic nationality: Nauru

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Civic nationality: Switzerland

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Per cent

1990 2000 2010

Ethnic counting 73.3 78.7 86.1

Top 5 terms

Language 36.6 42.0 47.2

Ethnicity 22.9 34.3 37.0

Mother tongue 19.9 23.7 25.9

Ethnic nationality 6.9 20.1 29.6

Race 9.2 9.5 11.1

Ethnic identity

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1990 2000 2010Region Per cent Africa 68.6 70.1 76.0

Asia 73.1 77.1 79.2

Europe 58.3 72.9 85.7

Oceania 92.9 90.0 89.5

N. America 86.9 87.1 94.1

S. America 66.7 88.9 100.0

Ethnic counting by region

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• Race = Americas• Ethnic nationality = Europe• Ethnic origins = Oceania & N America• Ethnicity = spread• Mother tongue = Europea• Indigenous status = S America

Regional variation in terminology

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Per cent1990 2000 2010

Civic counting 94.7 95.9 94.4

Top 4 terms

Place of birth 86.3 89.9 88.9

Citizenship 22.9 39.6 39.8

Nationality (civic) 44.9 38.0 36.6

Parental birth place 3.8 4.7 14.8

Civic identity

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Ethnic and civic identity

Per cent

1990 2000 2010

Ethnic only 2.3 3.0 5.6

Civic only 23.7 20.1 13.9

Ethnic & Civic 71.0 75.7 80.6

None 3.1 1.2 0.0

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State recognition of:

• Hybridity• Subjectivity• “Ethnification” of national identity• Multiple dimensions

Other dimensions of ethnic diversity

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Hybridity: Tokelau

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Subjectivity: St Lucia

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Multiple dimensions: New Zealand

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Ethnification of national identity: Canada

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• Possibilities beyond indirect markers (e.g., country of birth)

• Look beyond the 1st generation• Harmonization across countries challenging• Weakening of nation-based notions of identity

and ascendance of ethnic/cultural identities

Relevance for immigration + diversity

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