Introduction
The Community Survey is the largest survey that has ever been carried out by Stats SA. The survey collected data on population size, composition and distribution; migration, fertility and mortality; disability and social grants; school attendance and educational attainment; labour force; and income. The key results focus on the majority of the above focus areas. More detailed analysis is scheduled to be carried out in the near future. The results are presented using the new provincial boundaries.
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Objectives of the release
The main objective of this release is to provide key results emanating from the analysis of the data that were collected in the survey. The specific objectives are:
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To provide emerging trends and differentials with regard to demographic, socio-economic and social profiles of the population of South Africa.
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To highlight some of the successes that have been achieved to date and the challenges that need to be addressed in meeting the development goals government has set.
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Background
Censuses 1996 and 2001 are the only all-inclusive censuses that Statistics South Africa has thus far conducted under the new democratic dispensation. Demographic and socio-economic data were collected and the results have enabled government and all other users of this information to make informed decisions. When cabinet took a decision to move away from the 5-year to 10-year censuses, that created a gap in information or data between Census 2001 and the next Census scheduled to be carried out in 2011. A decision was therefore taken to carry out the Community Survey in 2007.
The main objectives of the survey were:
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To provide data at lower geographical levels than existing household surveys;
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To build human, management and logistical capacities for Census 2011; and
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To provide inputs into the preparation of the mid-year population projections.
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How the CS was conducted
The CS 2007 covered 274 348 dwelling units across all the provinces. The sampled dwelling units were visited by fieldworkers who were organised in teams of 5:1 supervisor and 4 field enumerators. The staff were trained by Stats SA personnel on how to administer the questionnaire and the quality assurance procedures that were to be deployed. A total of 238 067 dwellings had completed questionnaires when the fieldwork was completed. The questionnaires were processed using scanning technology to capture the data. A visual check was performed to ensure that the images were clear and that the data was clear and readable.
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The questionnaire
The questionnaire was divided into the following sections:
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Demographics: date of birth, age, sex, relationship, marital status and population group.
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Migration: province of birth, main place of birth, sub-place of birth, main place of usual residence, subplace of usual residence and details on place of previous residence.
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Disability and social grants: type of disability and type of social grants.
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Education: school attendance and highest level of education.
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Employment and economic activities: employment status, industry and occupation.
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Fertility: children ever born, children surviving, children dead and date and survival status of the last child born.
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Parental survival and income.
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Housing and Housing services: type of dwelling, tenure status, access to water, type of toilet facilities, source of energy for (lighting, cooking and heating), household goods and refuse disposal.
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Mortality in the last 12 months: number of deceased persons by (date of death, sex, age and cause of death).
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Response rates
The survey attained a response rate of 93,9%. This rate takes into account the non-response rates at the EA, dwelling unit and household levels. Two EAs were not covered due to problems encountered with the communities who refused to participate in the survey. Only 238 067 dwelling units out of 274 348 sampled dwelling units had completed a questionnaire. At the household level, the non-response always occurs inside the dwelling unit. It is not easy to deal with the problem without having information to facilitate dual estimation approach such as the Post-enumeration Survey that is carried out for a population census.
The adjustment of non-response is therefore based on the classification of dwelling units/households based on the enumeration status (enumeration completed, partially completed, non-contact, refusal, no usable information, listing error, unoccupied dwelling, demolished dwelling, vacant dwelling and other). In total, 15 393 cases were classified as non-response. The remaining 20 888 cases out of the total sampled dwelling units were invalid or out of scope.
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Outline of this release
This release has eight sections. This section provides the background information. The remaining sections are organised as follows:
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Section 2 presents a summary of the key findings.
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Section 3 focuses on population size, composition and distribution.
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Section 4 presents findings on school attendance and educational attainment.
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Section 5 presents results pertaining to disability and social grants.
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Section 6 provides results on housing and household access to services and facilities.
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Section 7 focuses on demographic dynamics: Fertility, Mortality and Migration.
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Section 8 presents conclusions.
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