Population registers

Countries with a population register:
  • Austria
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • The Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Sweden

Some countries (see list to the right) have removed the need for decennial censuses by adopting a system whereby population statistics are continuously updated based on information recorded in administrative registers. Each person is assigned a unique identifying number which enables information across different registers (i.e. birth, death, marriage etc.) to be linked and for central records to be updated. The linking of records means that as well as providing population statistics, the registers can also be used for longitudinal data which follows an individual across the life course.

The basic data recorded by population registers are births, deaths, marriages, nationality, migration etc. Population registers may also cover family relationships (i.e. parents, spouses) and dwellings, allowing data on individuals to be linked by family and household. Some Nordic countries also include information on health, educational attainment, employment and income within the population register.

Interaction Why do you think this additional information may be of use to demographers and policy makers?

 

Information on educational attainment, income and employment is useful for calculating rates (fertility, mortality and for certain diseases) by socioeconomic group. This highlights social inequalities and allows policies to be designed to tackle such inequalities.

 

 

 

Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 2007. Register-based statistics in Nordic countries: Review of best practices with focus on population and social statistics. New York and Geneva: United Nations. Available online: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/Register_based_statistics_in_Nordic_countries.pdf external link. Accessed 8th January 2013.