The objectives of Census changed over time shifting from earlier years where they were essentially household registrations and counts, to now where a national population census stands supreme as the most valuable single source of statistical data for the Fiji.
Census data is now widely used to evaluate:
- The availability of basic household needs in key sectors, to identify disadvantaged areas and help set priorities for action
plans;
- Benefits of development programmes in particular areas, such as literacy, employment and family planning;
The survey was conducted during December 2006, following an initial mini census listing exercise which was conducted about two months earlier in late September 2006.
The objectives of the HIES were as follows:
a) Provide information on income and expenditure distribution within the population;
b) Provide income estimates of the household sector for the national accounts;
c) Provide data for the re-base on the consumer price index;
d) Provide data for the analysis of poverty and hardship.
The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) is a field operation which consists of collecting information in the households based on face to face interview.
The questions asked to the households are related to living standard conditions, expenditures, purchases, incomes.... It is the only survey conducted at a national level which deals with households habits in terms of expenditure and income. As the private and public sector, households represent an economic and social actor of the country which needed to be known.