Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE)

Direction des Statistiques Démographiques et Sociales

Département de la Démographie

Not available.

ISCO-08, NACE Rev. 2, etc.

 Persons are registered where they spend most of the year, generally more than 6 months of the year.

The resident population of an area corresponds to:

- persons living permanently in a dwelling in the area, including spouses who live away for professional reasons and pupils or students who are minors;

- persons living in a community in the area (except for persons living in educational establishments housing school children or students (including military training establishments), or in penitentiary establishments)

- adults residing in an "educational" community in the area;

- persons detained in penitentiary establishments in the area;

- homeless persons present in the area on the first day of the census;

- persons who usually reside in mobile dwellings present in the area on the first day of the census;

- boatmen.

- Does the data relative to the total population include or exclude homeless persons (persons living in the street without shelter) and/or persons of no fixed abode (persons who move frequently from one temporary dwelling to another)?

Yes, these populations are included in the data relative to the total population.

The 7 specific cases of Regulation 1201/2009:

a- several residences: most of the year, except for workplace dwellings, in which case the family home is counted if the person returns home at the weekend.

This rule is applied in France

b- primary or secondary students in boarding school should consider the family home as their place of usual residence

This rule is applied if students are minors (if not, the student's dwelling place is the place of usual residence)

c- tertiary students should consider their term-time dwelling place as their place of usual residence

This rule is applied if students are adults (if not, the student's family home is the place of usual residence)

d- the institution is considered as the place of residence of persons who have lived or intend to live there for 12 months or more

This rule is applied in France except for students who are minors (and persons in penitentiary establishments)

e- the place of usual residence of military personnel doing mandatory military service, and members of the armed forces, is the place where they usually spend the night (military barracks or camps)

This rule is applied in France

f- the place of usual residence for homeless persons, nomads, vagrants and persons with no concept of usual residence, shall be the place of enumeration

This rule is applied in France

g- the place of usual residence for children who alternate between two homes is the one where they spend the most time, if the time is shared equally, it is the place where they are registered at the time of the census

This rule is applied in France

  Male/Female

  The age reached at the reference date (in completed years).

  In France, on 1 January 2011, the only legal form of marriage was between different-sex persons. (Civil Code Title V, Art 143, since modified by the law of 2013 which allows same-sex persons to marry)

Since March 2005, a man and a woman may not marry before they reach the age of 18. (Civil Code Title V, Art 144). However, the public prosecutor of the place where the marriage is celebrated may grant age dispensations for serious reasons.

In France, a PACS is a contract concluded between two different-sex or same-sex natural persons, who have reached the age of majority, in order to organise their life together. (Civil Code, Title XIII, Art. 515-1)

Marriage is dissolved: 1. By the death of one of the spouses; 2. By a legally pronounced divorce. (Civil Code, Title V, Art. 227)

A PACS is dissolved by the death of one of the partners or by marriage of one or both of the partners.

The PACS is also dissolved by a joint declaration of the partners or by a unilateral decision of either one. (Civil Code, Title XIII, Art. 515-7).

In this respect (unilateral termination of the contract), the PACS does not meet the definition of "registered partnership" required by Eurostat.

In reality, it does not effectively prevent a spouse from marrying or from engaging in another PACS.

Moreover, the legal obligations associated with a PACS in France are much weaker than those for a marriage.

PACS contracts are thus not taken into account in elaborating information relative to legal marital status.

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations.     

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations.     

The information on this topic addresses persons aged 14 years and older, and persons who are not imprisoned. 

In France, the declaration of the current activity status is not based on registers.

European Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009 on population and housing censuses requires measurement of unemployment as defined by the ILO (International Labour Office). Because the French census is declarative, a model has been developed to approximate declared unemployment more closely to the ILO definition.

In France (Labour Code, Title V, Art. L4153-1 to L4153-7), it is forbidden to employ workers under the age of sixteen, except in the case of:

1. Minors aged fifteen and older working under an apprenticeship contract;

2. General education students on information gathering visits organized by their teachers or, during the last two years of mandatory schooling, when they take part in observation periods;

3. Students in alternating work-school training or vocational training during the last two years of mandatory schooling, when they participate in introductory internships or training periods in a professional setting.

Minors over the age of fifteen are authorised during their school holidays to do work that is adapted to their age, provided they have effective rest periods equal to at least half the duration of their holidays.

Respondents are asked directly for their main activity. When there is an answer, the declaration is never challenged.

If there is no answer to this question, the adjustments use the responses provided in the rest of the questionnaire:

- if the respondent provided indications concerning their job in one of the questions destined for persons working at the time of the census, and did not answer the questions concerning persons not working, then their main situation is adjusted by hot deck, taking respondents of the same sex and age group who answered questions concerning persons working as donors;

  [if there are no donors, the main situation is considered to be "studying" for persons under the age of 20, "retired" for persons aged 55 and older, "unemployed" for men aged 20 to 54, "homemaker" for women aged 20 to 29 and "unemployed" for women aged "30 54"]

- if the respondent does not answer the questions addressed to persons working at the time of the census, but answers those addressed to persons not working, their situation is then adjusted by hot deck, taking those respondents of the same sex and age group who answered questions concerning persons not working as donors;

[if there are no donors, the main situation is considered to be "studying" for persons under the age of 20, "employed" for persons aged 20 to 64, and "retired" for persons of 65 years and older]

- if the respondent does not answer the rest of the questionnaire concerning persons working or not working at the time of the census, then:

       * their main situation is considered to be "employed", if the respondent checked "yes" to the question "are you currently employed?",

       * otherwise, their main situation is considered to be "studying", if the respondent filled in a part of the zone devoted to enrolment in a higher education establishment and if they are under the age of 36,

       * otherwise, their main situation is considered to be "other situation", if the respondent checked "no" to the question "are you currently employed?",

       * otherwise, their main situation is adjusted by hot deck, taking persons of the same sex and age group as donors

         [if there are no donors, the main situation is considered to be "studying" for persons under the age of 20, "employed" for persons aged 20 to 64, and "retired" for persons of 65 years and older]

- if the respondent filled in the rest of the questionnaire concerning persons working or not working at the time of the census, then their main situation is adjusted by hot deck, taking respondents of the same sex and age group and having answered the questions concerning persons working as donors [if there are no donors, the main situation is considered to be "studying" for persons under the age of 20, "employed" for persons aged 20 to 64, and "retired" for persons of 65 years and older]"

Occupation' refers to the type of work done in a job (that is the main tasks and duties of the work). Persons doing more than one job are allocated an occupation based on their main job, which is identified according to the time spent on the job or, if not available, to the income received. The breakdown by occupation is available for persons aged 15 or over that were: — employed during the reference week, or — unemployed during the reference week, but have ever been in employment Persons are classified according to the occupation they had during their most recent employment. The categories included in the breakdown 'occupation' correspond to the major groups of the ISCO-08 (COM) classification. Persons under the age of 15 years, as well as persons aged 15 or over that were: — not economically active during the reference week, or — unemployed, never worked before (i.e. they have never been employed in their lives) are classified under 'not applicable'. The allocation of a person within the breakdowns of the topics 'Occupation', 'Industry' and 'Status in employment' is based on the same job.

Industry (branch of economic activity) is the kind of production or activity of the establishment (or similar unit) in which the job of a currently economically active person is located. Persons doing more than one job shall be allocated an industry (branch of economic activity) based on their main job, which is to be identified according to the time spent on the job or (if not available) the income received. The breakdown by industry is available for persons aged 15 or over that were: — employed during the reference week, or — unemployed during the reference week, but have ever been in employment Persons are classified according to the industry they worked in during their most recent employment. The categories included in the breakdown 'industry' list the 21 sections of the NACE Rev. 2 classification and appropriate aggregates. Persons under the age of 15 years, as well as persons aged 15 or over that were: — not economically active during the reference week, or — unemployed, and have never worked before (i.e. have never been employed in their lives) are classified under 'not applicable'. The allocation of a person within the breakdowns of the topics 'Occupation', 'Industry' and 'Status in employment' is based on the same job.

Definition of an employee: No particularities in France

Definition of an employer: No particularities in France

Definition of an own-account worker: No particularities in France, but in the data this modality also includes persons who work on their own account and who may also be employers.

Definition of a contributing family worker:

Definition of a member of a producers' cooperative:

The data does not distinguish either family help or members of producers' cooperatives. The French census allows persons to declare themselves as "Helping a person at work without being paid".

The respondent declares themselves to be a "salaried head of company" and can indicate if they employ employees and, if so, how many. If they declare that they employ employees, they are classified in the category "Employer".

When there is an answer, the declaration is never challenged.

  The location of the place of work is the geographical area in which a currently employed person does his/her job. The place of work of those mostly working at home is the same as their usual residence. The term 'working' refers to work done as an 'employed person' as defined under the topic 'Current activity status'. 'Mostly' working at home means that the person spends all or most of the time working at home, and less, or no, time in a place of work other than at home.

  'Educational attainment' refers to the highest level successfully completed in the educational system of the country where the education was received. All education which is relevant to the completion of a level is taken into account even if this was provided outside schools and universities. Persons aged 15 years or over are classified under only one of the categories according to their educational attainment (highest completed level). Persons under the age of 15 years are classified under 'not applicable'.

   A locality is defined as a distinct population cluster, that is an area defined by population living in neighbouring or contiguous buildings. Such buildings may either: (a) form a continuous built-up area with a clearly recognisable street formation; or (b) though not part of such a built-up area, comprise a group of buildings to which a locally recognised place name is uniquely attached; or (c) though not meeting either of the above two criteria, constitute a group of buildings, none of which is separated from its nearest neighbour by more than 200 metres.

2 processing stages are conducted:

a- when the coding for the country of birth produces an "ambiguous" code, a process assigns a country's ISO code based on defined probabilities of correspondence between ambiguous codes and ISO codes. These probabilities take into account the population of the different countries. The appellations associated with ambiguous codes are: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, America, British West Indies, North Africa, Channel Islands, Guianese, Dominican, Spanish African Territories or Canaries, Indochina, Kurd, New Guinea, Madeira or Azores, Serbia or Montenegro, Saint Martin, Tamil, Soviet Union, Virgin Islands.

b- if the country of birth is not filled in and the place of birth indicator shows  "born in France", then the country of birth is assigned the code of a French territory based on the start of the code for the locality of birth.

If the country of birth is not filled in and the place of birth indicator shows "born abroad" then the country of birth is assigned:

 - the code of the nationality at birth of the individual who has become French, when this code corresponds to a foreign nationality;

 - the code of the foreign nationality of the individual who has not taken out French nationality;

 - in the absence of these 2 previous cases, the code of the country of birth of individuals having the same indicator of place of birth is assigned by hot deck (and the country "Algeria" is assigned if there is no donor).

The mother's place of usual residence is not used to fill in the place of birth."

  Citizenship is defined as the particular legal bond between an individual and his/her State, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, option, marriage or other means according to the national legislation. A person with two or more citizenships is allocated to only one country of citizenship, to be determined in the following order of precedence: 1. reporting country; or 2. if the person does not have the citizenship of the reporting country: other EU Member State; 3. if the person does not have the citizenship of another EU Member State: other country outside the European Union. 'EU Member State' means a country that is a member of the European Union on 1 January 2011. The list of countries in the breakdown 'Country of citizenship' shall only apply for statistical purposes. For reporting countries that are EU Member States, the sub-category of the category 'citizenship not of reporting country, but other EU Member State' that refers to their Member State does not apply. For reporting countries that are not EU Member States, the category 'citizenship not of reporting country, but other EU Member State' shall be changed to 'citizenship of an EU Member State'. Persons who are neither citizens of any country nor stateless and who have some but not all of the rights and duties associated with citizenship shall be classified under 'recognised non-citizens'.

  The year of arrival is the calendar year in which a person most recently established usual residence in the country. The data for 2011 refer to the time span between 1 January 2011 and the reference date.

   This indicates the relationship between the current place of usual residence and the place of usual residence one year prior to the census. Children under one year of age are classified under 'Not applicable'. For all persons that have changed their usual residence more than once within the year prior to the reference date, the previous place of usual residence is the last usual residence from which they moved to their current place of usual residence.

The topic 'Housing arrangements' covers the whole population and refers to the type of housing in which a person usually resides at the time of the census. This covers all persons who are usual residents in different types of living quarters, or who do not have a usual residence and stay temporarily in some type of living quarters, or who are roofless, sleeping rough or in emergency shelters, when the census is taken. Occupants are persons with their usual residence in the places listed in the respective category. 'Conventional dwellings' are structurally separate and independent premises at fixed locations which are designed for permanent human habitation and are, at the reference date, either used as a residence, or vacant, or reserved for seasonal or secondary use. 'Separate' means surrounded by walls and covered by a roof or ceiling so that one or more persons can isolate themselves. 'Independent' means having direct access from a street or a staircase, passage, gallery or grounds. 'Other housing units' are huts, cabins, shacks, shanties, caravans, houseboats, barns, mills, caves or any other shelter used for human habitation at the time of the census, irrespective if it was designed for human habitation. 'Collective living quarters' are premises which are designed for habitation by large groups of individuals or several households and which are used as the usual residence of at least one person at the time of the census. 'Occupied conventional dwellings', 'other housing units' and 'collective living quarters' together represent'‘living quarters'. Any 'living quarter' must be the usual residence of at least one person. The sum of occupied conventional dwellings and other housing units represents 'housing units'. The homeless (persons who are not usual residents in any living quarter category) can be persons living in the streets without a shelter that would fall within the scope of living quarters (primary homelessness) or persons moving frequently between temporary accommodation (secondary homelessness).

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations.

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations. 

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations.     

The census in France uses the "household-dwelling" notion.

A household comprises all the occupants of a main residence, regardless of family ties. A household can consist of no families, one family or several families. A household made up of one person or a single family is a simple household, otherwise it is a complex household.

Persons living in a community (workers' hostels, retirement homes, university residences, penitentiary establishments) or living in mobile dwellings (including boatmen and homeless persons) are considered to be "not living in a household": therefore, we consider no families for these persons.

A family is considered to be a setting able to receive one or more children. This is the part of a household made up of at least two persons and consisting of:

    - either a couple (consisting of two opposite-sex persons, whether married or not), with or without a child or children belonging to the same household;

    - or an adult with their child or children belonging to the same household (one-parent family).

For a person to be a child of a family, they must be single and not have a spouse or any children who are part of the same household.

A household can comprise zero, one or several families. Inside a household, an individual can either belong to one and only one family, or not belong to any family.

The links between members of a household are identified according to their link with the reference person. Method of determining the reference person provided here.

 The rule for determining the reference person in the household in complementary processing is as follows:

- If the household comprises one or several families, at least one of which contains a couple, the reference person is the oldest active man among the men of these couples or, failing that, the oldest man;

- If the household does not comprise any family containing a couple but at least one single-parent family, then the reference person is the oldest active person among the parents of single-parent families or, failing that, the oldest person;

- If the household does not contain any families, the reference person is, excluding any paying guests or live-in employees, the oldest person of working age or, failing this, the oldest person.

Homeless persons do not fall within the scope of household populations.     

 The topic 'Tenure status of households' refers to the arrangements under which a private household occupies all or part of a housing unit. Households that are in the process of paying off a mortgage on the housing unit in which they live or purchasing their housing unit over time under other financial arrangementsare classified under 'Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit'. Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit and at least one member tenant of all or part of the housing unit are classified under category 'Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit'.

 'Conventional dwellings' are structurally separate and independent premises at fixed locations which are designed for permanent human habitation and are, at the reference date, either used as a residence, or vacant, or reserved for seasonal or secondary use. 'Separate' means surrounded by walls and covered by a roof or ceiling so that one or more persons can isolate themselves. 'Independent' means having direct access from a street or a staircase, passage, gallery or grounds. 'Other housing units' are huts, cabins, shacks, shanties, caravans, houseboats, barns, mills, caves or any other shelter used for human habitation at the time of the census, irrespective if it was designed for human habitation. 'Collective living quarters' are premises which are designed for habitation by large groups of individuals or several households and which are used as the usual residence of at least one person at the time of the census. 'Occupied conventional dwellings', 'other housing units' and 'collective living quarters' together represent'‘living quarters'. Any 'living quarter' must be the usual residence of at least one person.

The category of the dwelling is determined by the enumerator based on the information collected in the neighbourhood if the dwelling is vacant, and in accordance with the following definitions:

 - a secondary dwelling is a dwelling that is occupied only during a part of the year (less than 6 months per year), at weekends, during holidays and leisure time;

- the occasional dwellings are classified with secondary residences. These dwellings - or self-contained rooms - are occasionally used for professional purposes by a person who also has a familial dwelling;

- a vacant dwelling is unoccupied and is in one of the following cases: available for sale or rent (new or old), already allocated to a buyer or a tenant and waiting to be occupied, in the course of being settled in succession law, having no precise use (in a state of disrepair but habitable), preserved by an owner for future use by one of his/her employees, parents or friends, uninhabited following departure of the occupant for a community (retirement home, hospital for a long stay, etc.).

If the category of the dwelling is undetermined or if there is any inconsistency between the category of the dwelling and the number of occupants, the following processing rules are applied:

- if the dwelling has no occupants and has been classified as a main residence or if its dwelling category is not filled in, it shall be assigned the dwelling category of a donor from among ordinary unoccupied dwelling.

 [in the absence of donors, the dwelling shall be classified as a secondary dwelling];

-          if the dwelling has at least one occupant and has been classified as an occasional, vacant or secondary dwelling, or if its category is not filled in, it shall be classified as a main residence."

The French census does not allow identification of housing cooperatives or dwellings in other types of ownership.

The number of occupants of a housing unit is the number of people for whom the housing unit is the usual residence.

 The "Number of rooms" concept was used.

The "Number of rooms" concept was used.

The "occupied rooms" concept includes bedrooms, dining rooms, lounges, living rooms, studios. They are counted regardless of their size, as is staff accommodation (and other additional rooms) not allocated to third parties. It does not include halls, corridors, bathrooms, closets, alcoves, toilets, laundry rooms, pantries, etc. nor any rooms used exclusively for work purposes. The kitchen is considered as an occupied room if it measures more than 12 m².

The density standard was calculated by dividing the number of rooms in the dwelling by the number of occupants.

The density standard was calculated by dividing the number of rooms in the dwelling by the number of occupants.

water supply system

toilet facilities

  A bathing facility is any facility designed to wash the whole body and includes shower facilities.

  A housing unit is considered as centrally heated if heating is provided either from a community heating centre or from an installation built in the building or in the housing unit, established for heating purposes, without regard to the source of energy.

   The topic 'Dwellings by type of building' refers to the number of dwellings in the building in which the dwelling is placed.

  The topic 'Dwellings by period of construction' refers to the year when the building in which the dwelling is placed was completed.

The EU programme for the 2011 population and housing censuses include data on persons, private households, family nuclei, conventional dwellings and living quarters

Persons enumerated in the 2011 census are those who were usually resident in the territory of the reporting country at the census reference date. Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage

Data are available at different levels of geographical detail: national, NUTS2, NUTS3 and local administrative units (LAU2)

Data refer to the situation in the reporting country at the census reference date (see item 5)

Counts of statistical units

A law: Articles 156 to 158, of Title V of Law No  2002-276 of 27 February 2002 on local democracy, define the main principles of the census and establish the basic rules for organising it.

Decrees:

-          Council of State Decree No  2003-485 of 5 June 2003, amended and published in the Official Journal of 8 June 2003, defines the means of applying Title V of the law;

-          Decree No  2003-561 of 23 June 2003, amended and published in the Official Journal of 27 June 2003, establishes, for each municipality, the year in which it shall conduct its first census survey [this decree has been completed successively by other decrees to take account of changes in geography and thresholds];

-          Decree No  2003-637 of 8 June 2009 published in the Official Journal of 9 June 2009 defines the new rules for establishing fixed-rate grants as of the 2009 collection, modifying the decrees of 5 and 23 June;

-          Decree No  2005-333 of 7 April 2005 validates the creation of the National Commission  for Evaluating Population Censuses as part of the CNIS (the CNERP);

-          each year a decree authenticates the population figures for the administrative areas and territorial communities of Metropolitan France, Overseas Departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion Island), Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint Pierre and Miquelon;

-          Decrees authenticate the figures of the legal populations of Overseas Territorial Authorities (Mayotte, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia).

Orders implementing the law: they specifically fix the provisions relative to conducting censuses of communities, the operational framework of enumerators (cards and social contributions). They also authorise the implementation of phases for "entering and processing the data collected" and "checking consistency of survey answers". They also define means of disseminating the results (Order of 19 July 2007).

The census is placed under the responsibility of the State. The municipality or the public inter-municipality cooperation establishments (EPCI) are required by law to prepare and conduct the census surveys and therefore receive financial allowance from the State.

INSEE's mission is to organise the collection of the information and ensure the quality of the collected information. It gathers the collected information, processes the questionnaires and disseminates the results.

Enumerators recruited by the municipality or EPCI drop off the questionnaires and pick them back up once they have been filled in. People living in institutions such as military quartering, hospitals, etc. are surveyed by Insee.

Not available.

 The vector of dissemination is the INSEE.fr website (address in 2014: http://www.INSEE.fr/fr/bases-de-donnees/default.asp?page=recensements.htm). Dissemination of statistical results organised by the Order of 19 July 2007 which specifically indicates geographical levels (and size) for distribution, the list of sensitive variables and the possible forms of products (maps, tables, detailed files).

Data are made available 27 months after the end of the reference period (March 2014)

 The national results of the population census are webcasted free of charge on insee.fr every year.

Data on population and housing censuses are disseminated every decade

cf Dissemination format - publications (item 10.2)

Census results are disseminated every year, free of charge. This is done in two major stages: promulgation of official populations (authenticated by decree) and dissemination of statistical results. The vector of dissemination is the INSEE.fr website (address in 2014: http://www.INSEE.fr/fr/bases-de-donnees/default.asp?page=recensements.htm). Dissemination of statistical results organised by the Order of 19 July 2007 which specifically indicates geographical levels (and size) for distribution, the list of sensitive variables and the possible forms of products (maps, tables, detailed files).

The INSEE.fr website presents:

-          The official populations of municipalities, cantons, arrondissements, departments and regions;

-          Key figures (provided for all zones regardless of size, except the results of the complementary processing, which are not provided for zones of 2,000 inhabitants and more)

-          Detailed tables (provided for zones of 2,000 inhabitants and more);

-          Maps

-          Databases that can be downloaded for each municipality (all municipalities in France) and sub-municipal districts (all IRIS in France);

Detailed sheets (dwellings, individuals, mobility and migration).

cf Dissemination format - publications (item 10.2)

cf Dissemination format - publications (item 10.2)

cf Dissemination format - publications (item 10.2)

-          INSEE methods "Understanding the population census", May 2005, Alain Godinot (accessible on the INSEE.fr website at the following address known in 2014: http://www.INSEE.fr/fr/publications-et-services/sommaire.asp?codesage=imeths01)

-          CNIS report, No  98, "Using and disseminating the results produced by the redesigned population census", Jean-Pierre Giblin, André De Los Santos, Jean-Michel Durr, December 2005 (available on the CNIS site at the following address in 2014:

http://www.cnis.fr/cms/Accueil/publications/Les_rapports_du_Cnis;jsessionid=4FD6F31FC19B86E95043408E9098A5F2?publication=82612)

The quality of a census mostly depends on the quality of data collection. According to international standards, a census is considered to be of very good quality when it is in the region of a 1% degree of accuracy for the whole population of a country. The French census method ensures good quality, precisely because it is conducted annually and by survey. These two original features mean that the collection burden is spread out over time and that the different players develop their skills.

 Moreover, each of the ingredients involved in elaborating the results of the census is validated progressively as it is implemented. In addition to these data checks (collected or administrative), different operations verify the processing. For example:

-          To ensure collection quality, all players receive proper training (enumerators, municipal coordinators, supervisors and INSEE personnel). Next, as soon as the questionnaires are available, different indicators are checked in the INSEE offices and a score is assigned to each municipality in the census. If the score is insufficient, INSEE operators conduct checks on the ground. These checks can lead to correcting the questionnaires, in collaboration with the municipalities concerned, thus contributing to improving the collection and verification protocols.

-          National survey operations measuring the quality of the inventory of addresses (RIL) have been organised on several occasions since 2004 (every two years on average) to check the match between the RIL  and the ground. In practice, they have conducted exhaustive "combing" of a certain amount of districts (IRIS), thus ensuring good coverage of the survey address base. These operations indicate that the RIL is correct to within 1%.

-          The quality of data entry is checked each year: a sample of questionnaires (between 5,000 and 6,000) is double-entered, one by the usual service provider and the other by a competitor. The INSEE analyses differences between the two entries for each question and deduces error rates that can be assigned to the main service provider. This double entry of data is conducted in the course of the entry campaign, ultimately enabling correction of protocols for the following batches (all questionnaires are distributed each year into twenty batches).

Operations are also conducted regularly (5 operations since 2004) on coding quality for the fields "employer activity" and "occupation", by comparing competing codings for a sub-sample of 100,00 individual questionnaires. An assessor then examines all diverging codings and 10% of converging codings. The assessor knows the first two codings assigned and can choose between them, or propose a different, third coding. The assessor's proposal is considered to be correct. Error rates in coding are thus demonstrated to be of an acceptable level and regularly reduced through time. The results also facilitate improvement of automatic coding tools and the instructions for manual corrections of coding failures in regional offices.

cf Quality management - Coverage assessment (item 12.2.1)

  The census data disseminated by Eurostat are addressed to policy makers, researchers, media and the general public.

  No user satisfaction surveys are carried out. User inquiries are handled by the Eurostat User Support service.

  Depends on the availability of data transmitted by the National Statistical Institutes.

  There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

  There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

  There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

In some cases, the answers of the questioned persons may differ from the real legal situation. For example, a person who lives separately from their spouse but who is not yet divorced, and therefore legally married, may hesitate between "single", "married" and "divorced". Similarly, persons living together or in a registered partnership (PACS) may hesitate to declare themselves "married".

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Unemployment modelled to correspond to the ILO concept

European Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009 on population and housing censuses requires measurement of unemployment as defined by the ILO (International Labour Office). Because the French census is declarative, a model has been developed to approximate declared unemployment more closely to the ILO definition. The model is based on the Continuous Labour Force Survey (LFS), the reference in France for measuring unemployment as defined by the ILO, and which also provides the spontaneous declarations of those surveyed. Based on this model, probabilities for the conversion from declared unemployment to ILO unemployment have been determined by region and by sex. Additional information was also used, such as socio-professional category. Ultimately, unemployment modelled in this way approaches the ILO definition, without however claiming to reflect the full complexity of the ILO system.

Consequently, detailed data on current activity status should be considered as unreliable. Current activity status is reliable for region and sex level.

The coding stage can generate some defects in terms of quality.

In census questionnaires persons fill out a title for their occupation. Several questions enable the coding of the occupation to be fine-tuned: establishment where the occupation is exercised, own-account or salaried worker, number of employees for own-account workers, function and occupational position of employees.

Based on these titles and additional information, the occupation and socio-professional category are then coded using automatic coding software. About one quarter of cases cannot be coded automatically: the software does not recognize the appellation of the occupation or finds inconsistencies between this appellation and the additional information. Coding is then done "manually" by agents who assign a code based on all the available information.

Coding in ISCO nomenclature:

The French census codes occupations in the 2003 Nomenclature of Occupations and Socio-Professional Categories (PCS).

In most cases, occupations can also be coded in ISCO nomenclature. However, there is a lack of information on supervision (the fact of supervising another person's work).

This information thus had to be imputed in order to estimate persons classified in mode 1 of the ISCO nomenclature (for this reason, detailed data should be considered as unreliable).

For unemployed persons, the information on the previous occupation is very succinct and required estimations in order to switch to ISCO nomenclature.

This estimation was compared to the Continuous Labour Force Survey data to check its quality.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Activity assigned to the unemployment model  corresponding  to the ILO concept.

The activity has had to be assigned in some cases, further to the switch from declared unemployment to a concept closer to the ILO definition. This is the case for individuals who were entered as being active according to the ILO definition although they had declared themselves unemployed or inactive. The same holds for unemployed persons who have already worked. This is intrinsic to the declarative nature of the French census.

 The coding stage can generate defects in terms of quality.

Coding of the activity of the employer establishment is based on the appellation filled in by the respondent. This is done by means of an automatic comparison with a reference list of appellations. This coding is completed by coding based on two items (the respondent's declaration of the appellation or corporate name of the employer establishment and of its address) that enable the establishment to be identified in a database containing all the active establishments on the reference date for collection of the census, and establishments in border countries (Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco).

 Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile. 

Assignment relating to the ILO definition:

For individuals declaring themselves to be " unemployed " or "not active" in the census, but considered to be "'active" after restating unemployment based on the ILO definition, the "Status in employment" variable uses information based on the previous activity that does not enable a distinction between self-employed employers and non-employing self-employed workers.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

In the case of an incomplete or inaccurate response:

The case of "border" municipalities:

For the purposes of local studies, in five border countries (Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland), the workplace municipality is coded if it is part of a list of municipalities considered to be "border" municipalities. These are the countries with which there is the most significant commuting. This information is sometimes fragile because respondents who work abroad do not always fill in the workplace municipality. In that case a workplace municipality is automatically assigned, generally in France.

Assignment model to correspond to the ILO concept:

For persons declaring themselves to be "unemployed " or "not active" in the census, but considered to be "employed" in accordance with the ILO model meaning of unemployed, the location of place of work variable was assigned by region of residence.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Assignment for conversion to the ISCED classification:

The French census collects information on completed degrees, and not the level of education. This leads to difficulties in estimating ISCED 1 and 2 (ED1 and ED2 modalities); Moreover, it does not enable a distinction between PhD holders (ED6 modality) and other tertiary degree holders.

To compensate for these conceptual differences, a model has been implemented and uses data on occupation, age group, sex and work status.

In France the Continuous Labour Force Survey provides more precise information on the level of education, but focuses on a smaller sample than the census. The used model attempts to bridge this gap.

For this reason, the information concerning ED1, ED2 and ED6 modalities is considered to be unreliable (except for the all-France total).

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

The French census does not collect information on successive periods of immigration and therefore on residence abroad. The data collection provides knowledge of the year of arrival in France, based on the respondent's declaration if they are born abroad. Because the rate of non-response for this variable is in excess of 20%, no adjustment is made to the year of arrival in France.

For persons born in France, the year of arrival after a portential period out of France is unknown.

The "Place of usual residence one year prior to the census" has been modified to comply with European regulations on population and housing censuses.

Until 2010, the French questionnaire asked subjects to indicate their place of residence five years earlier. From 2011 onward, in order to comply with the European requirement, the questionnaire changed and now asks about the place of residence one year prior to the census.

For most persons (85%) who already lived in their current dwelling place five years ago, it was naturally supposed that they also lived there one year ago. For the others, a programme was developed to assign, for each individual surveyed before 2011, his/her place of residence one year prior to the census. This programme uses information such as the year of moving in the dwelling.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

If in some couples, only one of the spouses is married (the other one being single, widowed or divorced), these couples are classified as being in a consensual union.

Added inaccuracy is linked to the complementary processing sampling rate: the results in municipalities with a population of 2,000 or less may be fragile.

  There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

  There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

The French census does not collect information on the presence of running water in dwellings. No questions are asked on this subject in Metropolitan France. In the questionnaire for Overseas Territories, a question is asked regarding the presence of a water point in the dwelling. Thus, in the data it is considered that all dwellings in Metropolitan France are equipped with running water, while in Overseas Territories, it is considered that dwellings have access to running water if there is a water point in the dwelling.

The French census does not collect information on the presence of WCs with or without a flush function. No questions are asked on this subject in Metropolitan France. In the questionnaire for Overseas Territories, a question is asked regarding the presence of a WC in the dwelling. Thus, in the data it is considered that all dwellings in Metropolitan France are equipped with a WC, with the exception of makeshift dwellings, and that dwellings in Overseas Territories have a WC with a flush function when there is a WC in the dwelling.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

The breakdown provided is the number of dwellings per address, which is as close as possible to the number of dwellings by building required by Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009. However, there may be several buildings at the same address and conversely, several addresses for a single building, although the data collected does not enable identification of this type of situation.

The response modalities for the question concerning the period of construction of dwellings have changed to comply with the requirements of the European Regulation.

First, the French questionnaire changed in 2011: the response categories for the 2008 to 2010 surveys are different from those of the 2011 and 2012 surveys. Thus, the data for the 2008 to 2010 surveys had to be assigned based on the new classification adopted in 2011. A model was built based on the 2006 housing survey to allow estimation of the probabilities of belonging to the new categories, based on the data of the 2006 housing survey. Then, once all the surveyed dwellings were described in accordance with the new French classification adopted in 2011, an additional stage had to be added to obtain the more precise classification required by Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009. To this end, the dwellings were assigned to the required categories based on equal probabilities.

For some regions, information about period of construction seems to be fragile, and should be considered as unreliable.

31 March 2014

The harmonised French census are such as to guarantee European-wide spatial comparisons. In particular, the data submitted to Eurostat to comply with the EC N°1201/2009 European Regulation are as close as possible to the required concepts (unemployment as per ILO definition for instance) and nomenclatures (ISCED, ISCO, NACE rev.2).

  Figures provided by the National Statistical Institutes in the framework of the 2011 Population and Housing Census may differ from those transmitted in other statistical domains due to the cross domain differences in definitions and methodologies used.  For additional information please see metadata specific to each domain.

  Internal coherence is assured by regulations defining breakdowns and definitions of topics (Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009, Regulation (EU) No 519/2010, Regulation (EU) No 1151/2010)

Collecting and processing census each year costs about €54 million. The main expenditure items are:

-            €21.5 million that INSEE pays to the municipalities, in charge of conducting the surveys and particularly paying the enumerators;

-            €4.5 million for the paper data provided by an external service provider (entry);

-            €1.5 million for printing the questionnaires and other collection documents;

-            €2 million to pay the personnel specifically recruited by the INSEE for certain ground operations (interviewers for communities, data collection check surveys, improving the quality of the );

-            €21.5 million for INSEE personnel, to pay the 400 persons who work on the operation all year round (upgrading survey bases, preparing, following up and checking surveys, data processing) and the 450 agents who supervise operations on the ground for 2 months.

Insofar as it takes five surveys to produce the complete results of the census, and considering the initial cost of setting up the system, the complete cost of the census is evaluated at €290 million, equivalent to €4.4 per person. This cost is in the same range as the last exhaustive census conducted in France in 1999. However, it cannot simply be compared with the cost of periodic censuses, because it produces and disseminates detailed data every year, which a periodic census cannot do.

Insofar as France does not have a population register capable of reliably confirming local population figures, the cost of the census is reasonable with regard to the services it provides. France is characterised by a very large number of administrative districts (36,680 municipalities, half of which have fewer than 420 inhabitants) and the census provides, in addition to official population figures, a detailed and regular updated description of their socio-demographic characteristics. The census is both an essential administrative tool for local authorities and a source of knowledge and studies for a large public. Each year, more than 12 million pages of census results are consulted on the Internet site INSEE.fr.

  Last revision : 15 october 2014

Since 2004 the French census has been based on an annual collection of information successively concerning all municipal territories over a five-year period. This rolling system of data collection is regulated by law and conducted in partnership with the municipalities. Each year, an exhaustive census is conducted of one fifth of the municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and a sample survey is conducted in all municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, based on a sample of addresses representing 8% of their dwellings. As a result, at the end of a five year cycle, all the inhabitants of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and 40% of the population of municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, have been included in the censuses, amounting to 70% of the population of the country. Following this, the information thus gathered over a five-year period is assembled for a single reference date (1 January of the median year of the period) for all municipalities  in order to ensure equal processing for all.

 As with the former general censuses conducted until 1999, the French census is put through "main" and "complementary" use :

-          The "main" use provides a description of all the individuals in the census with all their responses except those linked to occupation, activity and the family structure of households;

The "complementary" use provides precise results concerning occupations and socio-occupational categories, sectors of economic activity and family structure of households. However, it uses a selection of observations: a quarter of the data for households, mobile dwellings and the homeless, collected in municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants; the full data collected for households, mobile dwellings and the homeless in municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, and a quarter of the community data for all municipalities.

cf data sources - data on persons (item 20.1.1.1.)

cf data sources - data on persons (item 20.1.1.1.)

cf data sources - data on persons (item 20.1.1.1.)

cf data sources - data on persons (item 20.1.1.1.)

Data on population and housing censuses are collected every decade, in a reference year that falls during the beginning of every decade

Preparation and implementation of the data collecting respects the following stages :

-          initialisation of collection : drafting of reference lists, updates to the inventory of buildings located in municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, cartographic surveys of overseas departments, initialisation of collection schedules, documentation updates, information dispatched to municipalities by mail, ...;

-          preparation for collection in INSEE regional offices : supervisors are appointed, in charge of overseeing collections in several municipalities and sharing their experiences, in collaboration with INSEE ;

-          preparation for collections in municipalities : a municipal coordinator is appointed, printouts and logistics are organised, enumerators are recruited, breakdown of collection zones, collection operators are trained, local communication, ...;

-          conducting the collection : a reconnaissance round (lists of addresses in municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, verification of addresses to be included in municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more), collection using the deposit-collection method, starting with persons living in mobile dwellings and the homeless, collections in communities, end-of-collection operations (final classification of documents);

checking the collection: a supervisor checks the exhaustiveness and quality of the collection, post-collection checks conducted by the INSEE.

The quality of a census mostly depends on the quality of data collection. According to international standards, a census is considered to be of very good quality when it is in the region of a 1% degree of accuracy for the whole population of a country. The French census method ensures good quality, precisely because it is conducted annually and by survey. These two original features mean that the collection burden is spread out over time and that the different players develop their skills.

Moreover, each of the ingredients involved in elaborating the results of the census is validated progressively as it is implemented. In addition to these data checks (collected or administrative), different operations verify the processing. For example:

-          To ensure collection quality, all players receive proper training (enumerators, municipal coordinators, supervisors and INSEE personnel). Next, as soon as the questionnaires are available, different indicators are checked in the INSEE offices and a score is assigned to each municipality in the census. If the score is insufficient, INSEE operators conduct checks on the ground. These checks can lead to correcting the questionnaires, in collaboration with the municipalities concerned, thus contributing to improving the collection and verification protocols.

-          National survey operations measuring the quality of the inventory of addresses (RIL) have been organised on several occasions since 2004 (every two years on average) to check the match between the RIL  and the ground. In practice, they have conducted exhaustive "combing" of a certain amount of districts (IRIS), thus ensuring good coverage of the survey address base. These operations indicate that the RIL is correct to within 1%.

-          The quality of data entry is checked each year: a sample of questionnaires (between 5,000 and 6,000) is double-entered, one by the usual service provider and the other by a competitor. The INSEE analyses differences between the two entries for each question and deduces error rates that can be assigned to the main service provider. This double entry of data is conducted in the course of the entry campaign, ultimately enabling correction of protocols for the following batches (all questionnaires are distributed each year into twenty batches).

Operations are also conducted regularly (5 operations since 2004) on coding quality for the fields "employer activity" and "occupation", by comparing competing codings for a sub-sample of 100,00 individual questionnaires. An assessor then examines all diverging codings and 10% of converging codings. The assessor knows the first two codings assigned and can choose between them, or propose a different, third coding. The assessor's proposal is considered to be correct. Error rates in coding are thus demonstrated to be of an acceptable level and regularly reduced through time. The results also facilitate improvement of automatic coding tools and the instructions for manual corrections of coding failures in regional offices.

At the end of the collection, all the questionnaires are returned to INSEE (about 9 million individual bulletins and 4.5 million housing forms each year). They are divided into twenty entry batches and are digitised by optical scan, batch by batch. They are then coded and any adjustments are made.

Family links and appellations (places, nationalities, occupations, activities) are automatically coded insofar as possible. Situations that are not recognised in terms of occupation, activity sector and family make-up are processed manually. As this coding is costly, it is conducted only for questionnaires that are selected for the complementary use (one quarter of the collection for households and mobile dwellings and the homeless in municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, the full collection for households and mobile dwellings and the homeless in municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, and a quarter of the communities collection in all municipalities). 

To adjust for total nonresponse (nonrespondant dwellings), they first determine if the dwelling is a main residence and if so, the supposed number of occupants. The corresponding number of individual bulletins is then generated. Responses to these questionnaires are then assigned, as in the case of partial nonresponse.

Partial non-response is corrected by a sequential hot-deck imputation, batch by batch and variable by variable in accordance with a pre-established order of importance. This technique means that the response of the nearest individual can be assigned to a nonrespondant in the entry batch sorted by census identifier : municipality, collection zone, address rank, dwelling rank, individual rank. All recorded observations and all questions are thus adjusted and finally filled in. In addition, processing variables in logical order ensures the consistency of the answers for each observation.