Cook Island Population and Housing Census 2016

This is the tenth census undertaken by the Statistics Office, the first being in 1971, and it has been held every five years ever since.

The census counts all persons present in the Cook Islands on the census night of the 1st December 2016, including visitors temporary in the country. Cook Islanders who are living or are temporarily on vacation abroad are excluded.

1. Organisation
The overall organisation and control of the census, by virtue of the Statistics Act 2016, is vested upon the Government Statistician who, for the purpose of the census will be referred to as the Census Officer. A number of sections of the Act apply in carrying out the census. These include the “confidentiality” clause, which provides against the release or publication of any individual particulars and the offences and penalty clauses, which may be invoked against any persons failing to abide by the provisions of the Act.

2. Scope and Coverage
The scope of the early Cook Islands censuses was limited; in fact they consisted of head counts only. With the passage of time the census has expanded. Gradually, questions on sex, age, marital status, religion, education, employment, etc., have been included. Questions on unpaid work and income earned were included for the first time in the 1996 Census. In the 2016 Census, questions on relationship to head of household was expanded to reflect household living arrangement.
A personal questionnaire is completed for every man, woman and child alive at midnight on census night within the geographical boundaries of the Cook Islands. The Census excludes those persons on foreign vessels, yachts and aircraft flying through or stopping temporarily (transit). A dwelling questionnaire is completed for every occupied dwelling as at midnight on census night.

3. Objectives of the Census
Taking account of the many comments, evaluations and recommendations arising from the 2011 Census, the design of the 2016 Census is based on a number of key strategic aims: 1) to give the highest priority to getting the national and local population counts right; 2) to maximise overall response and minimise differences in response rates in specific areas and among particular population sub-groups; 3) to build effective partnerships with other organisations, particularly local authorities, in planning and executing the field operation; 4) to provide high quality, value-for-money, statistics that meet user needs ; 5) to protect, and be seen to protect, confidential personal census information.

4. The selection of topics and questions
The topic content of the 2016 Census has been driven largely by the demands and requirements of users of census statistics, the evaluation of the 2016 and 2011 Census, and the priority of government as stated in the National Strategic Development Plan of the Cook Islands (NSDP) and the advice and guidance of organizations with experience of similar operations. These have been determined by extensive consultation with various Ministries of government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

v01: Master file after data cleaning and labelling. Not yet de-identified

- Household: Dwelling characteristics, water and sanitation access, energy, rubbish, agriculture and fishing, transport, household equipment.
- Individual: Individual characteristics, disability, literacy, technology, education, economic activity, income, narcotics, cultural activity, fertility.

* Collection start: 2016
* Collection end: 2016