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Sample registration systems

In an ideal situation a vital registration system will cover all the demographic events occurring in a population, and this should be considered the ultimate aim in terms of gathering vital statistics. However complete vital registration systems are time-consuming and expensive to set up, and until this is achieved, sample registration systems can be used to gain high quality information on births and deaths.

Sample registration systems are similar to full vital registration systems; however they only cover a nationally representative sample of the population rather than the population as a whole. As with complete vital registration systems, births and deaths within the sample population are continuously recorded by a resident enumerator. This is combined with regular retrospective demographic surveys administered to all households within the sample area. Events recorded by these two methods are then matched, and any unmatched events are re-verified by further field enquiries.

Sample registration systems are primarily found in India and China.