Recensement > Concepts et clarifications

Rwanda 2002 Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat

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Concepts et clarifications

The moment of the census – at 24 hours on 15 August 2002.

The usual place of residence – the geographical area wherein a person under enumeration usually resides. It can be the same or another place where he/she actually was at the time of the census, or his/her legal place of residence.

The usually resident person – a person who usually resides in a dwelling, or a person who usually resides in a dwelling but is temporarily absent (for a period of up to one year) and expects to come back to that dwelling, or a person who has come to that dwelling for usual residence, although less than a year has passed since his/her arrival.

Age – the number of complete years before the moment of the census.

The person’s place of birth – is the geographical area of the usual residence of his/her mother at the time of his/her birth. For a person born in Rwanad the status of the residential area is indicated as it was at the time of the person’s birth, regardless of whether in course of years a rural area turned into an urban area, or vice versa. For a person born abroad the country according to the current borders is indicated.

It is considered that a person has lived in the same residential area for a year prior to the census, irrespective of whether he/she: moved within the boundaries of the same town or village, or moved from one village to another within the boundaries of the same local administrative unit, was on vacation, recreation, medical treatment, business trip, worked on the basis of a term contract, went abroad (not longer than one year), was a conscript.

Data on children under 15 years of age are provided by one of parents or foster-parents, or other adult member of the household. If there are doubts as to which nationality and mother tongue should be indicated, priority is given to mother’s opinion.

Having command of a language means that a person is able to speak and/or write a language. If a person is able to convey information in an easily understandable manner, to present his/her thoughts consistently and fluently, understands everyday language, is able to answer elementary questions, to fill in a form, to write a short text, then it is considered that a person has command of a language.

The child – a person under 18 years of age.

The number of children born alive – all children (irrespective of age) born alive to women under enumeration until the moment of the census, regardless of whether all children are alive and where they live at moment of the census.

The employed person – a person of 15 years of age and over who during the week preceding the census did any kind of work for no less than an hour and for which he/she was paid wages and salaries in cash or in kind (food or other products), or had profit (income).

The inactive person – a person of 15 years of age and over who cannot be attributed to the employed or unemployed (pupil, student, pensioner, housewife/homemaker, etc.).

The type of economic activity – a type of manufacturing or any other activity in which an enterprise or similar economic unit, which is the workplace of the employed person, is engaged.

Disorder, in terms of health, is any restriction or inability (due to an impaired function) to perform actions which are ordinary for a healthy person.

Disability is defined as personal condition established by competent institutions, when a person, due to congenital or acquired physical or mental handicaps, is totally or partially unable to attend to his/her personal and social life, to effect his/her rights and perform duties.

The disabled person – a person for whom the 1st, 2nd or 3rd group of disability has been established, and a child under 16 years of age for whom disability since childhood has been established.

The private household – a group of persons who live in the same dwelling, share the same budget and have meals together, or one person living separately. The members of a household should not necessarily be in family or marital relationship.

The family household – a household comprising two or more persons who are in marital or family relationship. It can be spouses/cohabitants with or without a child(-ren) or one of parents with a child(-ren) living alone or together with other persons, etc.

The non-family household – a household comprising one person or a group of persons who are not in marital or family relationship.

The institution – a household consisting of persons whose shelter and living needs are satisfied by an institution.

The institutional house – old people’s homes; care institutions for the disabled; child care homes; family-type child care homes (families); children’s villages; lodging houses; temporary care homes for children, old people, disabled, victims of woman and child abuse; crisis centres; hospitals; monasteries; seminaries; military barracks; boarding-schools; correctional centres; police custody; etc.

The nuclear family – spouses/cohabitants without children, or spouses/cohabitants with one or more children, or one of parents with one or more children.

The building – a separate construction containing one or more dwellings, rooms or other premises meant for human habitation, commercial, cultural or other activities.
During the population and housing census only the buildings with residential dwellings are enumerated.

The residential building – a building whose total, major part or at least half of useful floor space is a dwelling(s).

The non-residential building – a building which is not a residential house but contains a dwelling.

The dwelling – an individual house, or apartment in a residential or non-residential building, or separate room(s) with premises of common use.

The conventional dwelling – an individual house, or part of an individual house, or apartment.

The unconventional dwelling – a dwelling which is partially long-term or not adapted for human habitation (e.g., wagon, yacht, etc.), but at the time of the census is used as the usual place of residence of one or several persons.

The collective living quarters – a separate and independent group of premises meant for habitation of larger groups of persons or individual households, which at the time of the census was used as the usual place of residence of at least one person (e.g., student’s hostel, non-privatised apartment(s) in a hostel owned by an enterprise, hotel, rest house, camp, etc.).

The individual house – a detached house, farmstead or summerhouse adapted for habitation during the whole year.

Part of individual house – part of a semi-detached house.

The separate flat – a dwelling in a block of (three or more) flats or terraced house, or in a non-residential building, or in a hostel’s privatised room(s).

The hostel – a dwelling in a student’s hostel, or non-privatised apartment(s) in a hostel owned by an enterprise.

Other living quarters – a construction adapted for habitation during the whole year which at the time of the census was the usual place of residence of at least one person (wagon, yacht, summerhouse not adapted for habitation during the whole year).

The useful floor space of a dwelling – total floor space of living rooms, other premises (kitchens, sanitary facilities, corridors, built-in cabinets and other ancillary premises) and commercial areas in a dwelling. The useful floor space does not include the floor space of balconies, unheated attics, cellars, and garages.

The room – the space in a dwelling surrounded by walls of at least two meters long going upwards from the floor to the ceiling (roof) and big enough (at least four square meters) to hold an adult person’s bed. Kitchens, corridors, verandas, porches, bathrooms or toilets (even larger than four square meters) are not considered rooms.