RP : Population Census - 2020 - principale

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Data description

The results of the census are classified into 7 themes:

• Evolution and structure of the population

• Couples - Families - Households

• Housing

• Diplomas - Education

• Labour force - Employment - Unemployment

• Employment characteristics

• Foreigners - Immigrants

Sector coverage

Jobs are mainly disseminated according to:

• The sector of activity of the NAF, revision 2: in 5, 17 or 38 items;

• The socio-professional category of the PCS 2003 in 6 or 29 items;

• Working hours, status (salaried or not), employment conditions (trainee, fixed-term contract, permanent contract, etc.).

Statistical unit

Dwelling, the household, the family, the individual.

Statistical population

People residing in metropolitan France, in the overseas departments except Mayotte, and in the overseas collectivities of Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

The other overseas territories carry out full enumeration every five years by way of derogation (Article 157).

The last full enumeration in Mayotte took place in 2017. Mayotte integrated the annual census surveys in 2021 and will be subject to a joint dissemination to the metropolitan territories and other DOMs from the 2023 census.

Reference area

France hors Mayotte

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The 2020 census results refer to 1 January 2020. They are calculated mainly from the results of the annual census surveys (ACS) carried out from 2017 to 2022 and from the 2019 and 2020 localised residential buildings register.

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Comparability - geographical

The reference territory for the dissemination of population censuses is metropolitan France and the following four overseas departments (DOM): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion and Martinique.

All administrative territories (municipality, municipal district, arrondissement, canton, EPCI, department and region) as well as study areas (employment zones, urban areas and urban units) are covered by the dissemination.

Mayotte, which became a DOM on 31 March 2011, retained its own system for collecting and disseminating census results until 2017, when it conducted its last general census. It now follows the same protocol as the other departments. The results of the first population census in 2023, which will be the cumulative result of annual surveys from 2021 to 2025, will be published in June 2026.

The overseas collectivities (COM) also have their own census and their own mechanism for disseminating the results.

The municipality level is the basic territorial division on which most of the other proposed zonings are based.

For sub-municipal dissemination, the basic level is the IRIS one. Municipalities with a population of 10 000 or more and most municipalities with 5 000 to less than 10 000 inhabitants are divided into IRIS.

The data for year n are presented within the geographical boundaries in force on 1 January N+2 for the dissemination of the 2006 to 2015 renovated censuses.

From the 2016 census onwards, the data are presented in the latest geography available at the time of dissemination of the results, i.e. in N+3; except for the sub-municipal data and the detail files which remain in N+2 geography.

Comparability - over time and CC2. Length of comparable time series for U

The results of the renewed censuses can only be properly compared with each other for periods of at least 5 years apart. For a shorter period, it is strongly advised not to compare two censuses.

Due to the postponement of the 2021 annual survey (except in Mayotte), linked to the health situation of Covid-19, the results of the years from 2019 to 2023 must exceptionnaly be compared with those of previous years at least 6 years apart.

For all years from 2006 to 2010, the comparison is made with the statistical results of 1999. From the 2011 results onwards, five-year comparisons can be made: 2006-2011, and then 2007-2012, etc. From most census dissemination products for year N, a link is provided to the N-5 results.

To facilitate comparisons over time, some indicators are also proposed for previous general censuses, with the following reference dates:

1999: 8 March 1999 for metropolitan France and overseas departments,

1990: 5 March 1990 for metropolitan France and 15 March 1990 for the overseas departments,

1982: 4 March 1982 for metropolitan France and 9 March 1982 for the overseas departments,

1975: 20 February 1975 for metropolitan France and 16 October 1974 for the overseas departments,

1968: 1 March 1968 for metropolitan France and 16 October 1967 for the overseas departments.

• What is the best gap between two censuses? (pdf, fr)

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Data compilation

A census year is created from five annual census surveys for the calculation of legal populations.

In municipalities of 10,000 inhabitants or more, where census surveys are carried out every year by sampling: the principle of the calculation is to calculate an average number of people per dwelling over the last five years, then deducting the entire municipality by referring to the number of dwellings in the middle of the period, as known by the localized building register (Ril).

In municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, INSEE determines the legal populations by extrapolation or interpolation of the results obtained by the most recent census survey. In the case of extrapolation, these calculations consist of extending observed trends based on the number of dwellings provided by the tax data, and in the case of interpolation, establishing intermediate figures between two years for which the populations are known.

The first phase of statistical analysis , known as the main processing, concerns all the questionnaires collected. It produces a detailed file containing all the dwellings and individuals surveyed. The main processing deals with all the information that can be easily coded after the data capture of the paper questionnaires.

The statistical results of this operation cover most of the fields of study allowed by the census questionnaires (individual and dwelling form), which are classified into 7 themes on insee.fr:

• Evolution and structure of the population (age, sex, etc.);
• Couples-Families-Households (marital status, living with a partner, household size, etc.);
• Dwellings (category and type of dwelling, period of completion, occupancy status, number of rooms, length of time since moving in, etc.)- Residential migration (place of residence 1 year earlier);
• Diplomas-Training-School mobility (schooling and place of study, highest diploma, etc.);
• Labour force, Employment,Unemployment (activity rate by sex and age, active people in employment, unemployment according to the census, etc.);
• Employment characteristics - Professional mobility (professional status, employment conditions, part-time work, place of work, mode of transport to work...);
• Foreigners-Immigrants (distinction between French/foreigners and immigrants/non-immigrants by gender and age).

The second phase of the statistical processing , called complementary, is intended to produce variables whose elaboration is more complex.

These are those that describe:

• The family structure of households: precise determination of the reference person of the household, identification, if necessary, of families within the household and composition of these families;

• The sectors of activity in which the jobs are carried out;

• The occupation and socio-professional category of people, whether they are employed or seeking employment.

  Since the 2014 survey, one fith of households

  in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants have been included in the supplementary survey, and all household questionnaires (i.e. around 40%) in municipalities with 10,000 inhabitants or more. For all communes, the complementary analysis also covers one individual in 5 communities.

• Tips for using the statistical results (fr)
• Directory of Localised Buildings (RIL) - Definition (fr)
• Processing population census data (fr)
• Main and supplementary farms (Thematic sheet, June 2022) (pdf, fr)
• Determining the legal population of municipalities (pdf, fr)

Sample size

Over a 5-year cycle, 26 million dwellings and 48 million people are enumerated.

Data collection documents

The individual form covers the characteristics of the individual: sex, age, marital status, place of birth, nationality, place of study, diplomas, place of previous residence (one year before), employment, social category, economic activity sector, workplace, etc.

The housing form describes the characteristics of:

• The household: composition, size, family ties, number of cars, etc.;

• The dwelling: type, year of completion, size, type of occupation, public housing, heating, bathroom, sewage disposal, year of moving in, parking, etc.

The forms (individual , individual for communities, housing for metropolitan France and the DOM) as well as the explanatory notes are available on the website << le recensement et moi >> (site updated at each ACS).

• Census of Population - Explanatory notes (fr)
• Collection questionnaires for the 2020 RP campaign (7z, fr)

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The methodology of the population census was renewed in 2004 and resulted in an Insee méthodes << Pour comprendre le recensement de la population >> in 2005.

The quality of population estimates in the census also led to an Insee Méthods in 2020.

The documentation also consists of thematic advice sheets, technical notes and sheets on data processing after collection. They present the information you need to know in order to make the best use of the census results. They are available on insee.fr.

• Insee méthodes Special edition : To understand the population census (fr)
• Tips for using the statistical results (fr)
• The quality of population estimates in the census (Insee Méthodes n°136 - October 2020) (fr)
• Processing population census data (fr)

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2020 - principale : https://doi.org/10.34724/CASD.10.5095.V1