2003 EDITION Demographic statistics: Definitions and methods of collection in 31 European Countries (3/2003/E/no25) THEME 3 Population EUROPEAN and social COMMISSION 3conditions Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union New freephone number: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003 ISSN 1725-065X ISBN 92-894-6051-2 © European Communities, 2003 Population and social conditions 3/2003/E/n° 25 DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS: DEFINITIONS AND METHODS OF COLLECTION IN 31 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES This study was commissioned by Eurostat from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and with the assistance from the National Statistical Institutes of each of the 31 countries concerned. The views expressed in this document are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission Copyright: European Commission 2003 DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS: DEFINITIONS AND METHODS OF COLLECTION IN 31 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 7 1 General issues and international migration ................................................... 9 1.1 General issues .............................................................................................. 9 1.1.1 Position of the national statistical institute............................................. 9 1.1.2 Civil registration................................................................................... 11 1.1.3 Official documents and registrations ................................................... 13 1.1.4 Estimation of the size of the population............................................... 15 1.2 International migration................................................................................. 18 1.2.1 International migration estimation methods......................................... 18 1.2.2 Administrative corrections ................................................................... 23 1.2.3 Age definition ...................................................................................... 25 2 Births........................................................................................................... 27 2.1 The declaration of a birth ............................................................................ 27 2.1.1 Persons who can make the declaration .............................................. 27 2.1.2 Place where the declaration can be made .......................................... 27 2.1.3 Time limit for birth declaration ............................................................. 29 2.2 The contents of a birth declaration .............................................................. 30 2.3 The definition of a live birth ......................................................................... 35 2.4 Children born abroad .................................................................................. 37 2.5 Quality of the registration ............................................................................ 39 2.6 Age definition .............................................................................................. 39 2.7 Abortions..................................................................................................... 41 2.7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 41 2.7.2 Circumstances under which abortion is allowed.................................. 43 2.7.3 The contents of a registration of abortion............................................ 45 2.8 Fertility indicators ........................................................................................ 47 2.8.1 Total fertility rate (TFR) ....................................................................... 47 2.8.2 Cohort fertility rate (CFR) .................................................................... 49 2.8.3 Mean age of the mother at birth of child.............................................. 51 3 Deaths......................................................................................................... 55 3.1 The declaration of a death .......................................................................... 55 3.1.1 Persons who can make the declaration .............................................. 55 3.1.2 Place where the declaration can be made .......................................... 55 3.1.3 Time limit for declaration of death ....................................................... 55 3.2 The contents of a declaration of death ........................................................ 57 3.3 The definition of a death.............................................................................. 59 3.4 Persons dying abroad ................................................................................. 61 3 DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS: DEFINITIONS AND METHODS OF COLLECTION IN 31 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 3.5 Quality of the registration ............................................................................ 61 3.6 Form to be completed in case of infant mortality......................................... 63 3.7 Definition of a stillbirth ................................................................................. 63 3.8 Age definition .............................................................................................. 64 3.9 Mortality indicators ...................................................................................... 65 3.9.1 Death rates.......................................................................................... 65 3.9.2 Infant death rates ................................................................................ 67 3.9.3 Life expectancy at birth ....................................................................... 69 4 Marriages .................................................................................................... 71 4.1 Registration of marriages ............................................................................ 71 4.2 Minimum marriageable age......................................................................... 75 4.3 The contents of a declaration of marriage................................................... 78 4.4 Marriages performed abroad and marriages contracted between non- residents ..................................................................................................... 79 4.5 Quality of marriage registration ................................................................... 83 4.6 Living arrangements other than marriage ................................................... 83 4.6.1 Types of living arrangements other than marriage .............................. 83 4.6.2 Registration of living arrangements other than marriage..................... 83 4.7 Marriage indicators...................................................................................... 85 4.7.1 Mean age at marriage ......................................................................... 85 4.7.2 Total first marriage rate (TFMR).......................................................... 89 5 Divorces ...................................................................................................... 91 5.1 Divorce regulations ..................................................................................... 91 5.2 Conditions for a divorce .............................................................................. 93 5.3 Registration of divorces............................................................................... 95 5.4 Divorces of non-residents ........................................................................... 97 5.5 Age definitions of divorces .......................................................................... 99 Appendix I: Age-specific demographic rates........................................................... 101 Appendix II: Mean age, event-based and rate-based ............................................. 107 Appendix III: List of country codes.......................................................................... 111 Appendix IV: Glossary ............................................................................................ 115 Appendix V: Country-specific registration forms ..................................................... 125 4 DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS: DEFINITIONS AND METHODS OF COLLECTION IN 31 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Ministry under which the National Statistical Institute operates.............8 Table 1.2 Civil registration and marital status .....................................................10 Table 1.3 Official documents and registrations in use.........................................14 Table 1.4 Population characteristics ...................................................................16 Table 1.5 International migration.........................................................................20 Table 1.6 Variables registered in the statistics on administrative corrections .....22 Table 1.7 Age definition for international migration .............................................24 Table 2.1 Time limit for birth declaration .............................................................28 Table 2.2 Contents of a birth declaration (selected information) .........................32