International Workshop on Record-Based Censuses

Administrative records are a potential source of low-cost, continuous and geographically complete statistical data, arising from already existing data derived from the administrative processes of various ministries and government agencies. As such, they cover a wide range of information that is important for public policymaking, including social, demographic, economic and financial data. Many countries are actively investigating the possibilities of better using administrative data for statistical purposes, seeking, on the one hand, to reduce the workload and cost of obtaining information through censuses and surveys, and on the other hand, to address the growing magnitude of the non-response in these traditional direct collection tools.

Some developed countries are in an advanced phase of using administrative records for statistical production; however, in Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions, administrative records are the least frequently used source of statistics, being the Censuses and sample surveys (more expensive) are the most used tools. Although it is true that the degree of maturity (quality/coverage) of administrative records for statistical use is heterogeneous between countries, it is pertinent to establish a roadmap that faces the different challenges for progress in the use of administrative records. for statistical purposes. Among them, strengthening the current technical and institutional weakness of some of the national statistical offices of LAC and other regions to exercise stewardship over the production of administrative records and strengthening the specific capacities of the national organizations that manage the records to guarantee the coverage and quality of the records they generate.

The process of producing statistics based on administrative records, and in particular the possibility of developing censuses based on records, requires the normalization of information under the guidance of national statistical systems. This means that it is necessary to: improve consistency between the definitions and classifications used for administrative records and those used in censuses and surveys; define classification and coding methods that allow establishing a precise link between the different records in use; establish methods and good practices to review data inconsistency derived from the use of different sources, among others.

This workshop therefore seeks to promote ways of working with partners who can transfer knowledge about the use of administrative records for an integrated statistical system.

The specific objectives of the workshop are:

• Know good practices and international experiences on censuses based on administrative records.
• Know the state of the art on censuses combined or totally based on administrative records in countries that do not have a central population registry.
• Provide participants with an overview of the possibilities, challenges and risks when moving from traditional censuses to combined and register-based censuses.
• Explore regional experiences on integrated statistical registry systems and registry-based census pilots.
• Present participants with a step-by-step guide on how to build a statistical population register and transition to a register-based census.
• Develop a roadmap that addresses the different challenges for advancing the use of administrative records for statistical purposes.