No abstract

For the first time in Mexico, the 2020 Population and Housing Census data collection will be carried out through a CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) scheme as the main enumeration method, but it will also include the CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) and the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) methods. These innovations, given the census structure size and the rapid changes in technologies, are a significant challenge for INEGI. Progress in census planning and field tests results will be presented, including the main challenges to be faced, the innovations considered for their implementation, as well as the successful experiences on the use of technologies for geo-referencing the information both in the data collection stage and for results dissemination.

Labor figures for Mexico’s municipalities were estimated during 2018’s first quarter by using Small Area Estimation (SAE) techniques with the incorporation of a spatial component – given there is no recent information source with such a level of geographic disaggregation. To achieve this, combined information from different sources was used to build statistical models in which the Economically Active Population, the Employed Population and the Informal Employed Population were taken as variables object of estimation – this information was taken from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE for its acronym in Spanish). Auxiliary variables were selected from population censuses, administrative records, and population projections. The results were contrasted with those calculated by applying the percentage structures of 2010 Population and Housing Census to the figures provided by ENOE at a federal entity level, and with the data in this survey (obtained by direct estimation for those municipalities which had a sufficient sample with acceptable coefficients of variation). It is observed that the results obtained by Small Area Estimation are plausible and register coefficients of variation below 10 percent.

The development of population and housing censuses implies a challenge regarding the necessary resources, logistics, and operations for National Statistical Offices (NSOs). At the global level, this challenge was more significant in the 2020 census round due to the COVID-19 health contingency. This led Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía – INEGI) to analyze possible scenarios in the face of the pandemic and rethink some activities in order to adapt to the contingency. As a result of these measures, the 2020 Population and Housing Census in Mexico turned out a success. The aim of the paper is to share INEGI’s solutions implemented before, during, and after the COVID-19 contingency, which favored the development and conclusion of the census in Mexico and which other countries might find useful. Among the key elements of the Mexican census strategy was the incorporation of technologies for data collection, e.g. migrating from paper questionnaires to the use of mobile computing devices (MCDs), which reduced the time of capture and processing of information. In addition, a brief analysis of the behavior of past pandemics facilitated the decision-making. The main lessons learned from the Mexican experience include: the importance of maintaining the generation of official statistics in crisis contexts, the need for NSOs to have a robust risk management system that contemplates all types of scenarios and allows them to act in any contingency, and the need to implement innovative data collection methods and extend the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).