Sources of demographic Data

Vital Statistics Registration

System (VSRS)
 Vital Events
• Registration of Vital events is another major
source of demographic or population data.
• Vital events are those events which are
considered important in the process of life of an
individual right from birth till death.
• Events like birth, marriage, divorce, separation,
adoptions and deaths e.t.c are continuously
taking place in society and these must be
systematically recorded for different purposes.
 Vital Statistic registration system
(VSRS)
According to the United Nations’ Handbook
of statistics Methods, “ a vital statistical
system” can be defined as including:
• the legal registration, statistical recording
and reporting of the occurrence of, and the
collection, compilation, analysis,
presentation, and distribution of statistics
pertaining to ‘vital events’.
•
 Cont;
• The process established for the recording of vital
events on a continuous basis in respect of all the
individuals in a country constitute the vital
statistics registration system for that country.
• This registration system provides the data for
measuring the dynamics of population change
on a continuous basis, and in this respect differs
from a population census which collects
population data at a particular point in time.
 Collection of Vital Statistics
• The basic features of a vital statistics collection
system are;
 Continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of
the occurrence and characteristics
 Governmental organization
 Informant and Reporters
 Place of registration
 Time allowed for current registration
 Content of statistical records
a. Continuous, permanent, compulsory recording
of the occurrence and the characteristics .
• The registration of all vital events must be done
as they occur and must be maintained inorder
to be retrieved as required.
• Vital registration is regally required and there are
penalties for failure to comply with the law.
• When registration is voluntary rather than
compulsory, there can be no assurance of
complete or accurate vital records or statistics.
• Legal requirement for registration of vital events
has, therefore , been made one of the United
Nations “principles” for the development of a
vital statistic system.
 Government Organization
• Collection of vital statistics require a well
organized institutional set up.
• The statistics needs to be collected all over the
country in a uniform manner. This needs trained
manpower divided over offices covering the
whole country who follow strictly defined
registration procedures.
• The registration system can be organized under
centralized or decentralized control, but the
national government will have to keep up the
overall responsibility.
 Informant and Reporters
• The person responsible by law for reporting the
occurrence of a vital event may or may not also
be the source of the information concerning the
facts associated with the event.
• In most countries, for example the father or the
mother responsible for reporting the occurrence
of live births or foetal death, together with certain
personal information, but the attendant physician
or midwife is also responsible for reporting the
event along with certain medical information.
 Place of registration
• The United Nations recommends, and with
few exceptions, the countries of the world
require registration of vital events in the
local registration area where the event
occurred.
 Time allowed for current
registration
• The registration record usually calls for both the
date of the event and the date of registration.
• Nationally laws usually specify the maximum
interval permitted between these two dates for
each type of vital event.
• The law specifies the fine or other penalty for
failure to register the event within the prescribed
period.
 Content of statistical records
• The United Nations has recommended
lists of statistical items that should be
included in the records of live births, foetal
deaths, deaths ,marriages, and divorces.
• These include; date of occurrence, date of
registration, place of occurrence, sex, age.
• The world Health Organization
recommended the forms of the medical
certificate of cause of death.
 Cont;
• Demographic certificates include items like; the
date of occurrence ,the usual place of residence
of the descendant or the child’s mother, age and
sex of the decedent, sex of the child (birth), age
and marital status of the mother, occupation of
the father, order of the marriage( first, second
etc.), date of marriage, for divorce, and so on.
• Legal or Medical certificates includes such items
as hour of birth, name of physician in
attendance, name of person certifying the report,
and date of registration.
Uses of Vital Statistics Registration
System
There are three main categories for the use
of vital records and statistics.
• Administrative uses
• Statistical uses
• Medical uses
 a. Administrative Uses
• Birth registration records provide the necessary legal and
documentary evidence to certify a person’s age, parentage, birth
place and nationality or citizenship.
• Birth registration certificates are used in the determination of a
person’s eligibility for admission to school, to obtain a passport, to
enter certain fields of employment and to vote in an election.
• The death certificate is required for civic functions such as
entitlement to family allowances, insurance claims, care of children,
tax deductions or benefits.
• It can also provide legal evidence relevant to claims of property, to
insurance claimed on the life of a deceased person, to the rights of
a surviving spouse to remarry, or to claims for family allowance
where the death creates financial need.
 Cont;
• Marriage and divorce records are the
basis for claims involving the status of
women such as dependency, tax
deductions and allowances, provision and
allocation of specific types of housing.
• The divorce records are also important to
establish the right to remarry.
 b. Statistical Uses
• Vital statistics provide data, independent of census, on
measures of fertility and mortality, both for the entire
nation and for small geographical areas; this allows the
study of trends and patterns in fertility and mortality.
• The sex ratio at birth provides a very important pierce of
information for use in population projections.
• The system may be used as a check on census
enumeration, particularly of those in the infant and
young-childhood age range, where under-enumeration is
common.
• The populous countries, vital statistics can be useful in
formulating population –control programmes and for
evaluating the effectiveness of such programmes.
 c. Medical Uses
• Data about deaths and their causes as recorded
on death certificates are essential in the
planning of health services for specific areas
and the whole country. for example the cause–
of–death statistics are helpful in forecasting the
future course of age –specific mortality.
• Epidemiological studies based on morbidity data
have a strong influence on the reduction of
mortality and are usually based on records of
vital statistics.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
VSRS
• Advantages;
 Continuous monitoring of vital rates.
 May provide both enumerator and
denominator for some rates( e.g. IMR)
 Small area data available
 Base for testing the accuracy of census
and surveys.
 Disadvantages
• Uncertain coverage: difficult to ensure
registration of all the events.
• Extensive in time and space
• Information may come from third party.