12. POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS 2001

The housing and population census was carried out in accordance with Act No. 158/1999 Coll., as at midnight from 28 February to 1March 2001 (decisive moment).

The census covered:

o   all persons permanently resident on the territory of the Czech Republic at the moment of the census and all persons having long-term residence in the Czech Republic at the moment of the census,

o   all persons without permanent or long-term residence in the Czech Republic present on the territory of the Czech Republic at the decisive moment,

o   all houses designed for living (including unoccupied),

o   all dwellings, including unoccupied.

The houserefers to a construction designed for living on the grounds of the planning authority’s decision as well as any other construction comprising one dwelling at least.

The dwelling refers to one or more rooms, whose building and technical setup and equipment meet the requirements for permanent living as decided by the planning authority.

The census did not cover foreign citizens enjoying diplomatic immunity and prerogatives or to houses and dwellings (owned by other states) serving diplomatic purposes.

DATA ON POPULATION

Population, total includes persons permanently resident on the territory of the Czech Republic at the moment of the census and persons having long-term residence in the Czech Republic at the moment of the census, regardless of whether or not they were present at their place of residence at the decisive moment.

Persons long-term present - only foreigners staying temporarily on the territory of the Czech Republic for more than 90 days.

Everybody filled in the nationality according to his/her own decision, being free to state two nationalities or none. The same approach – i.e. to provide the information by one’s own will – was applied to the issue of denomination.

The highest educational attainment was filled in by persons aged 15+ only.

The economically active include all employed persons, employers, the self-employed, economically active students and apprentices, women on 28-week or 37-week maternity leave, persons in compulsory military, alternative and community services, persons in custody and imprisoned, and the unemployed (as at the fixed moment of the Census, irrespective of the form of relation to the employer). The unemployed include all persons aged 15+ who had no job at the fixed moment of the Census, were seeking a job, or were currently available for work. The economically inactive include economically inactive pensioners, other persons with their own livelihood, pupils, students, apprentices, homemakers, preschool-age children, and other dependants.

DATA ON HOUSEHOLDS

The data on households were processed according to recordings in the Dwelling sheet, which also gave information on relations between individual persons in dwellings and on common financial performance.

Dwelling household comprises persons living together in one dwelling.

Private household comprises persons living together, who reported in the Dwelling sheet that they live on common budget – i.e., they pay major expenses of the household together (such as food, housing costs, etc.). This was also reported by children belonging to the household, although they did not contributed to the common budget. Sub-tenants and their families always constitute a separate private household. The private household may include one or more census households.

Census household comprises persons living together in one dwelling on the basis of their family or other relations in the framework of one private household. This household is a basic unit not split any further.

There are four types of census households distinguished between:

o   family household – two-parent family: married couple or common-law husband and wife cohabitation (the so-called common-law marriage) with or without children

o   family household – lone-parent family: one parent with at least one child

o   multi-member non-family household: two or more relatives and also non-relatives, living on common budget, who do not constitute a family household

o   Single-person household.

Family households may include other individuals provided they live on common budget, do not constitute an independent family, and/or are not sub-tenants. Sub-tenants and their families always constitute a census household. The Housing and Population Census results classify family households, among other things, by number of dependent children. The dependent child is any person whose relation to the census household head is son or daughter, is economically inactive, and is 0-25 years of age.

The data on private and census households were processed for persons living in and out of dwellings (emergency housing). Persons who did not fill in the Dwelling sheet were not included in the processing.

Numbers concerning passenger cars, telephones, recreational possibilities (recreation buildings), and personal computers in dwellings households (permanently occupied dwellings) were measured with no regard to which member of the household was the owner. Business cars and computers were also reported, if household members could use them for private purposes. On the contrary, business cars, telephones, and computers used exclusively for the execution of jobs were not included.

DATA ON HOUSES AND DWELLINGS

The total number of houses includes all houses designed for living (both occupied and unoccupied), buildings with one or more dwelling units and accommodation establishments without dwelling units provided they serve for long-term or permanent accommodation. Included are family houses, multi-dwelling houses, hostels, boarding houses, institutions for physically and mentally handicapped persons, monasteries and convents (buildings with accommodation spaces for members of monastic orders and congregations, farm and industrial buildings with one or more dwellings, etc.

Permanently occupied house is a house with at least one occupied dwelling, or a facility for collective accommodation, and at least one person living permanently there, or with at least one person having permanent (or long-stay) residence there. Unoccupied house is a house designed for housing for which no person with permanent or long-term stay was included in the Census. The unoccupied houses – occupied temporarily is a house used for a temporary staying; such a house has neither permanently occupied dwelling nor any person living there permanently.

The number of unoccupied houses includes all dwelling houses and all houses with accommodation facilities without dwellings, provided they are designed for permanent residence or long-stay living and no person with permanent residence or long stay was included in the Census for them. Unoccupied buildings without dwellings or with facilities designed for short-term accommodation (hotels, tourist accommodation establishments, hospitals, etc.) are not included in the number of unoccupied houses.

The following houses are distinguished between depending on the type:  

o   family house – has a maximum of three separate dwellings, not more than one attic, two above-ground storey and one basement; family houses also comprise weekend houses, not excluded out of the housing stock, used for recreation;

o   multi-dwelling house - has more dwellings accessible from a common corridor or staircase and is not a family house. Multi-dwelling houses also include villas, which do not meet conditions for a family house;

o   other buildings – all other buildings except for family and multi-dwelling houses.

Permanently occupied dwelling is a dwelling, in which at least one person has permanent residence of long stay.

Unoccupied dwelling is a dwelling, in which no person is registered for permanent residence or long stay. Unoccupied dwelling – occupied temporarily is without permanently registered persons and is used for temporary stay; it is mostly a dwelling for which a temporarily present person (persons) was included in the Census.

Habitable area of a dwelling is the floor area of living rooms and that part of the kitchen floor area that is in excess of 12 m². In one-room dwellings – kitchen-cum-living rooms – the habitable area is the whole floor area of the room. Neither the habitable floor area of a dwelling nor the number of living rooms includes rooms of the dwelling designed for business or work purposes (for the execution of jobs). These rooms are part of the other rooms of the dwelling. The total area of a dwelling is the sum of the floor areas of the living rooms, kitchen and other areas of the dwelling.

DATA COMPARABILITY

The 2001 Population and Housing Census includes (in accordance with international recommendations) foreigners with long-term residence. In previous censuses, foreigners staying on the territory of the Czech Republic and having a long-term residence permit were only included in temporarily present population.

For the first time in the history of censuses the item of nationality also includes the cases of double nationality (in 1991 the double nationality cases were processed according to the first nationality reported). In the 1991 and 2001 censuses, the Czech, Moravian and Silesian nationalities were covered separately; in 1961, 1970 and 1980 only the Czech nationality was covered. Since 1991, the Romany nationality has also been covered separately.

The data on economic activity are not comparable fully. In the 1991 census, the number of economically active persons also included women on child-care leave (up to 3 years of age of the child) and persons receiving the family benefit, if employed. In the 2001 census, however, the women on child-care leave and the persons – recipients of the family benefit were included in economically inactive persons. Conscripts on compulsory military service, alternative service and community service reported “soldier” for their employment and were classified to the category Defence (or Public administration and social security in the event of their community service). In the previous census, however, these inhabitants were asked to report these data according to their last employment.

When the equipment of households was measured, a new question about computers was asked. Unlike the year 1991 no questions about freezers, automatic washing machines or TV sets were included in the questionnaire.

The 1980 number of unoccupied dwellings includes unoccupied houses and houses occupied from time to time. The 1970 and 1980 numbers of unoccupied dwellings include unoccupied dwellings in unoccupied houses, unoccupied dwellings in permanently occupied houses and dwellings occupied from time to time. In the Census 2001 the question about the occupancy of dwellings included a new category of non-occupancy – temporarily occupied dwelling. Similarly as in the occupancy of dwellings, the occupancy of houses has a new category of non-occupancy in the Census 2001 – i.e., the temporarily occupied house (a house, which there is/are a temporarily occupied dwelling/dwellings only and, at the same time, neither any permanently occupied dwelling nor any permanently residing person).

Type of house – family house: the Census 2001 breaks down family houses into: detached family houses, semidetached family houses and terraced family houses (such a breakdown was last used in the Census 1970).