The UN Principles and Recommendations presents the recommended housing tables in two parts. These tables are roughly divided into “required” tables and “additional tables.” While the set of tables is not definitive, it follows the recommendations presented in the Principles and Recommendations discussions of the items and allows countries to obtain a series of tables that will comparable to those of other countries in the 2010 Round censuses. Since the first set of housing tables is similar to the tables recommended for the 2000 Round censuses and earlier ones. The first housing set covers basic tables. CSPro is used to show the table specifications to be used with the Pophous dictionary and the sample Pophous data to help visualize the actual tables. NSOs can adapt these elements to obtain their own tabulations.
Required Housing Tables and Descriptions
Table H1.1-R
Table H1.1-R Persons, by broad tpes of living quarters, and number roofless
This is a broad summary table designed to show in very general terms the type of housing occupied by persons
and households and the number roofless. It provides background information as well as a control for
preparation of more detailed tabulations for the categories shown. In fact, the magnitude of the number of
households that occupy collective living quarters or are homeless and their geographical distribution provide
an indication of the extent to which more detailed tabulations for these groups need to be prepared
Table H1.2-R
Table H1.2-R Households, by broad types of living quarters, and number roofless
Same as H1.1-R
Table H1.3-R
Table H1.3-R Living quarters, by broad types
Same as H1.1-R
Table H2.1-R
Table H2.1-R Person in collective living quarters by type, major civil division, and urban/rural residence
This is the only recommended table that displays all the categories of collective living quarters. It is
recognized that the living conditions in different type of collective living quarters differ
significantly, for example, in military camps and luxurious retirement homes. This table aims at
showing the magnitude of institutional population in different types of institutions.
Table H2.2-R
Table H2.2-R Collective living quarters by type, major civil division, and urban/rural residence
Same as H2.1-R
Table H3.1-R
Table H3.1-R Households in occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, major civil division, and urban/rural residence
This table distinguishes among various types of housing according to the level of housing standards.
Also, its purpose is to describe the occupants in terms of aggregates, households and family nuclei. The
tabulation is of primary importance for the formulation of housing programmes and is a prerequisite of
calculation of indicators on housing conditions.
Table H3.2-R
Table H3.2-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, major civil division, and urban/rural residence
Same as H3.1-R
Table H3.3-R
Table H3.3-R Occupants of housing units, by type of housing unit, major civil division, and urban/rural residence
Same as H3.1-R
Table H3.4-R
Table H3.4-R Family nuclei in occupied houing units, by type of housing unit, major civil division and urban/rural residence
Same as H3.1-R
Table H4-R
Table H4-R Conventional dwellings by occupancy status, major civil division and facilities
This tabulation confines itself to data relating to conventional dwellings because all other types of housing units
are required, by definition, to be occupied in order to fall within the scope of the census; a classification by
occupancy would not therefore be applicable to them. In some housing censuses, vacancy information is
recorded during the listing of sets of living quarters and summaries of these lists provide the aggregates
furnished by this tabulation, although generally not in detail as far as reasons for vacancy are concerned. Such a
procedure may provide an economic means of obtaining data, though every effort should be made to collect
information in detail on vacant conventional and basic dwellings.
Table H5-R
Table H5-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by type of ownership of the housing unit, by major civil division
This tabulation provides information on the type of ownership of the housing unit. It is intended to show the
type of ownership according to the type of housing unit. Assessing the ownership of housing units is of
paramount importance in establishing housing policies.
Table H6-R
Table H6-R Housing units, by number of rooms, cross-classified by type of housing unit and number of occupants per unit
This tabulation provides for the selection of data concerning any desired
level of density considered to be of significance, from extreme
overcrowding to under-occupancy. In establishing the statistical indicators
on housing conditions, the Statistical Commission and the Inter-Agency
Working Party on Statistics for Social Programmes agreed that dwellings
with densities of three or more persons per room should be
considered overcrowded under any circumstances. For national use, this
level may be raised or lowered according to circumstances; levels set for
urban areas may be different from those for rural areas (the outdoor spaces
in rural areas are sometimes considered to offset, to some extent, the high
densities prevailing within the housing units).
Table H7-R
Table H7-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by water supply system, by major civil division
From this tabulation, information may be derived on the number of persons and the number of households
with ready access to water supply as well as the availability of piped water for each class of housing
units. The classification of the source of the water supply in this tabulation is limited to the community
scheme or an individual source. Many countries have found it useful to further elaborate this
classification in order to provide more detailed information on the source of the water supply
Table H8-R
Table H8-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by main source of drinking water
The importance of supply of drinking water was emphasized in a number United Nations documents and
resolutions, most notably on Millennium Development Goals. This tabulation aims at assessing the
source of drinking water used by households as it often differs from the source of water used for general
purposes (see tabulation H5-R above).
Table H9-R
Table H9-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by type of toilet and type of sewage disposal
From this tabulation, data may be obtained on the number of housing units by type with the number of
occupants, the type of toilet facilities available to them and the characteristics of the sewage system. The
tabulation of toilet facilities shown provides the minimum data required for an evaluation of living quarters
according to the facilities available. The information for dwellings is required for the computation of
indicators of housing and its environment. If the number of sets of collective living quarters is large, it may
be useful to prepare similar tabulations by type of collective living quarters. With respect to these units,
however, separate tabulations that would also show the number of toilets in relation to the number of
occupants may be more useful than information that merely indicates the availability of toilets and the type
of toilet. Similar information may be tabulated for housing units occupied by more than a certain number of
households. In many countries the classification has been elaborated to provide information on availability
of particular types of toilets (other than flush) that are prevalent and characteristic of the country or area
concerned and imply varying degrees of efficiency from a sanitary point of view.
Table H10-R
Table H10-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by tupe of bathing facilities
From this tabulation, data may be obtained on the number of housing units by and the type of bathing
facilities available to occupants. This tabulation provides the minimum data required for an evaluation of
living quarters according to the facilities available. The information for dwellings is required for the
computation of indicators of housing and its environment. If the number of sets of collective living quarters
is large, it may be useful to prepare similar tabulations by type of collective living quarters. With respect to
these units, however, separate tabulations that would also show the number of fixed baths and showers in
relation to the number of occupants may be more useful than information that merely indicates the
availability of bathing facilities. Similar information may be tabulated for housing units occupied by more
than a certain number of households
Table H11-R
Table H11-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by availability of kitchen and fuel used for cooking
The classifications used in this tabulation for equipment and fuel used for cooking should be formulated to
conform to the types of equipment and types of fuel normally used in the country concerned. Data on fuel
refer to the fuel most frequently used and it may be confined to the fuel used for preparing the principal
meals. If information has been gathered on the number of kitchens or kitchenettes or the number of stoves in
housing units occupied by more than a certain number of households and for collective living quarters, such
as hotels, boarding houses and multi-household living quarters, it would be useful to tabulate this
information according to the type of living quarters and the number of households.
Table H12-R
Table H12=R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by type of lighting and/or use of electricity
Countries and areas in all regions attach considerable importance to the source of energy used for lighting.
This tabulation could provide planners with a useful indication of areas where community lighting needs to
be extended. For housing units lit by electricity, additional information may be tabulated to show whether
the electricity comes from a community supply, generating plant or some other source.
Table H13-R
Table H13-R Occupied housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by main type of solid waste disposal
This tabulation provides information on the type of solid waste disposal as defined in the revised Principles
and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses. Disposal of solid waste and facilities for
disposing of it have an extremely important impact on public health and on maintaining a safe environment.
As for the classification of types of solid waste disposal, it consists of broad categories and may be further
elaborated on the basis of prevalent systems in a specific country or area.
Table H14-R
Table H14-R Households in housing units, by type of housing unit occupied, cross-classified by number of households per housing unit
This tabulation provides information on the number of households that are sharing housing units with other
households and thus provides an important basis for estimating housing needs. The importance of a separate
housing unit for each household that desires one is widely recognized. This tabulation shows the number of
households that occupy the shared units.
Table H15-R
Table H15-R Conventional dwellings by type of building, and construction of outer walls
This tabulation provides information on the number of dwellings by type of building where they
are located and by material of construction of the walls of the building. The building is here an
indirect but important unit of enumeration as it carries information on different types of
buildings and the way to define them. The tabulation includes material of construction of
external walls only, since this appears to be of the utmost significance as an indicator of
durability. Information on the construction material of the roof and floor is also frequently
collected in national housing censuses, particularly information on the former, but certain
inconsistencies and complications have been noticed while tabulating construction material for
more than one element of the dwelling.
Table H16-R
Table H16-R Housing units by type and construction material of outer walls
This tabulation provides information on the number material of construction of the outer walls crosstabulated
by the type of housing units. The main purpose of the tabulation is to provide an overview of
the predominant construction material in regard to the type of housing unit. The tabulation includes
material of construction of external walls only, since this appears to be of the utmost significance as an
indicator of durability. Information on the construction material of the roof and floor is also frequently
collected in national housing censuses, particularly information on the former, but certain
inconsistencies and complications have been noticed while tabulating construction material for more
than one element of the dwelling.
Table H17.1-R
Table H17.1-R Households, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by sex and age of head or other reference member of household
It is assumed that the economic and demographic data required for housing tabulations will be
obtained from the population census. In selecting characteristics to be used, the primary consideration
should be their efficiency in providing insight into the housing requirements of the population as
well as an indication of the possibilities that exist for meeting these requirements. This tabulation
provides one component needed to compute headship rates specific for age and sex for the projection
of number of households.
Table H17.2-R
Table H17.2-R Occupants of housing units, cross-classified by sex and age of head of household
Same as H17.1-R
Table H18.1-R
Table H18.1-R Households in housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by tenure of household and, for tenant housheolds, ownership of housing unit occupied
This tabulation yields data showing the type of tenure under which households occupy their living space.
Data are tabulated in terms of households rather than housing units in order to show more clearly the
tenure status of households sharing housing units. The number of owner-occupied housing units can be
obtained from the tabulation H6-R using the corresponding figures for owner households in each category.
Type of ownership of the housing unit occupied is shown in this table for renting households. Several
variations of the classification of tenure have been found useful. Tenure data are sometimes classified so
as to distinguish the tenure under which the living quarters are occupied from the tenure of land upon
which they stand (in some countries such a classification may be of special significance). Owneroccupants
are shown in some cases according to whether the housing unit is fully paid for or whether it is
being paid for in instalments or is mortgaged.
Table H18.2-R
Table H18.2-R Occupants of housing units, by type of housing unit, cross-classified by tenure of household and, for tenant households, ownership of housing unit occupied
Same as H18.1-R
Table H19-R
Table H19-R Households (and occupants) in housing units, by type of housing units, cross-classified by information and communication technology devices and access to the interney
This tabulation presents the essential information on the ownership and availability of ICT devices to
households in the country.
