<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> In many countries, counts of people are a key factor in the allocation of government resources. However, it is well known that errors arise in Census counting of people (e.g., undercoverage due to missing people). Therefore, it is common for national statistical agencies to conduct one or more “audit” surveys that are designed to estimate and remove systematic errors in Census counting. For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a single audit sample, called the Post Enumeration Survey (PES), shortly after each Australian Population Census. This article describes the estimator used by the ABS to estimate the count of people in Australia. Key features of this estimator are that it is unbiased when there is systematic measurement error in Census counting and when nonresponse to the PES is nonignorable.</p></abstract>

In many countries, counts of people are a key factor in the allocation of government resources. However, it is well known that errors arise in Census counting of people (e.g., undercoverage due to missing people). Therefore, it is common for national statistical agencies to conduct one or more “audit” surveys that are designed to estimate and remove systematic errors in Census counting. For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a single audit sample, called the Post Enumeration Survey (PES), shortly after each Australian Population Census. This article describes the estimator used by the ABS to estimate the count of people in Australia. Key features of this estimator are that it is unbiased when there is systematic measurement error in Census counting and when nonresponse to the PES is nonignorable.

Estimating the Count Error in the Australian Census

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Methodology Division, P O Box 10 Belconnen Australian Capital Territory, 2616,

University of Technology, Sydney, School of Mathematical Sciences, Sydney, New South Wales,

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Methodology Division, Adelaide, South Australia,

Journal of Official Statistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Estimating the Count Error in the Australian Census"}

In many countries, counts of people are a key factor in the allocation of government resources. However, it is well known that errors arise in Census counting...

Estimating the Count Error in the Australian Census

Publié en ligne: 21 févr. 2017

Pages: 43 - 59

Reçu: 01 févr. 2015

Accepté: 01 oct. 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jos-2017-0003

Mots clés
Undercount, capture-recapture, Dual System Estimator

© by James Chipperfield

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Estimating the Count Error in the Australian Census

Publié en ligne: 21 févr. 2017

Pages: 43 - 59

Reçu: 01 févr. 2015

Accepté: 01 oct. 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jos-2017-0003

Mots clésUndercount, capture-recapture, Dual System Estimator

© by James Chipperfield

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Mots clés
Undercount, capture-recapture, Dual System Estimator