The Census of Population and Housing is the largest statistical collection undertaken by the ABS and one of the most important. Its objective is to accurately measure the number of people in Australia on Census night, their characteristics and the dwellings in which they live. Due to the size of the Census and population mobility, it is inevitable that a small proportion of people will be missed or counted more than once.
The ABS has run a Census Post Enumeration Survey (PES) after each Census since 1966, to provide an independent measure of Census coverage. The PES determines how many people should have been counted in the Census, how many were missed, and how many were counted more than once. This information is used in the compilation of the Estimated Resident Population and in the evaluation of the Census.
This seminar will provide an overview of the 2011 PES results, the key changes implemented in this cycle (such as Automated Data Linking, which has had a major impact) and other information on how the ABS conducts a PES.
Presenter
Bjorn Jarvis
Demography Director
Australian Bureau of Statistics