The United Nations Demographic Yearbook: In Need of Improvement Expert Group Meeting to Review the...

The United Nations Demographic Yearbook: In Need of Improvement

Expert Group Meeting to Review the United Nations Demographic Yearbook System10-14 November 2003New York

Demographic and Social Statistics BranchUnited Nations Statistics Division

United Nations Demographic Yearbook System

• Set of instruments and procedures for collecting, processing and disseminating national population statistics

• Most visible product, the United Nations Demographic Yearbook , is a unique source of national population statistics, for over 230 countries or areas in the world.

United Nations Demographic Yearbook: A Brief History

• The Statistical Commission and the Population Commission of the United Nations were established in 1946

• Based on their recommendations the Economic and Social Council introduced the Demographic Yearbook, as a major vehicle for collecting, processing and disseminating population statistics


• Initially, there were 48 topics included in the Demographic Yearbook, pertaining to

• Area and population

• Economically active population

• International migration

• Natality

• Mortality

• Morbidity

• Marriage and divorse


• Sources of data at national level:

• Population and Housing Census• Civil registration and vital statistics system• Administrative records


• Collecting and presenting statistics and meta-data from national censuses exposed gaps in coverage and methodological inconsistencies

• Consequently, these Demographic Yearbook findings initiated two major United Nations programmes:


1. The work on methodological standards, resulting in introducing and updating the Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses and accompanying manuals and handbooks

2. The work on assisting countries in conducting their censuses through a number of technical assistance projects


• Similarly, in the field of civil registration and vital statistics, the findings of the Demographic Yearbook initiated another two sets of programmes:


1. The work on the Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, a set of methodological standards, and

2. The International Programme for Accelerating the Improvement of Vital Statistics and Civil Registration Systems,a set of activities such as producing handbooks, training manuals and conducting regional workshops


• Therefore, the Demographic Yearbook has, from the beginning, several major functions:• Collecting, processing and disseminating

population statistics and meta-data for the world• Initiating substantial programmes for statistical

capacity building at the national level• Powerful research tool • Foundation for the analytical work on population

within the United Nations

United Nations Demographic Yearbook: United Nations Demographic Yearbook: TodayToday

• The questionnaires:• Harmonization with international principles

and recommendations:• Definitions

• Classifications

• Tabulations

• Removing topics• Adding topics• Meta-data

United Nations Demographic Yearbook:Ways of Improvement


• Response rates• Format of the questionnaires• On-line filling?• Building the Demographic Yearbook Network• Regional training workshops• Improving national statistical capacities• Use of OCR technologies to capture data


• Dissemination• Eliminating the time lag between collection and

dissemination• On-line dissemination• Regional, custom-made overviews• Opening the Demographic Yearbook database

to the outside users

United Nations Demographic Yearbook: Conclusion

• The Demographic Yearbook is a major reference publication

• Provides national statistics used in• monitoring population and social phenomena, • assessing national statistical capacities,• evaluating methodological approaches and

national practices, • providing a model for collection and

dissemination of data, to name a few.

United Nations Demographic Yearbook: Conclusion

• At this moment, a specific Demographic Yearbook Work Programme 2004-2014 is being put together, listing activities and actions needed to improve components of the system, and this Expert Group Meeting is the major building block in this process.

The United Nations Demographic Yearbook: In Need of Improvement Expert Group Meeting to Review the...

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