Interviewer instructions
Column five - residence status:
Residence is defined in relation to the household in which a person usually resides. Each person counted in the census must be classified in one of the four following residence status categories:
- Present Resident (RP) if he/she is present in the household;
- Absent Resident (RA) if he/she is absent from his/her usual household;
- Visitor (VIS) if he/she is a visitor in the household concerned;
- Emigrant (EM) if he/she resides outside of Burkina Faso.
[p. 22]
a) Present Resident (RP)
Someone is classified as a present resident if they have habitually lived in the household for more than 6 months and are present on the reference date. In most cases, the reference delay (six months) is sufficient for determining residence. However, there are exceptions. For example, people that have lived in a given location for less than six months but express the intention of staying there are classified as Present Residents (RP). In this case, they will not also be counted at the location they left less than six months prior.
Examples:
- A woman who has just married is a resident at her new home where she resides with her husband;
- A government worker who has been recently transferred to a new location should be counted as a resident in the new location. His/her family or household that is waiting elsewhere in order to move and join him/her will not be counted with him/her.
- A person, whether single or with a household, who has just changed their residence and intends on staying in the new location for whatever reason becomes a resident in the new location.
Other Present Resident cases:
The following persons shall be classified as "present residents", even if they have not spent the reference night in their household:
-- Doctors and other medical personnel on call;
-- Sentinels;
-- Factory workers who work overnight shifts;
-- Workers that work at night, either regularly or temporarily -- examples: truck drivers, persons commuting home during the reference night.
[p. 23]
b) Absent Resident (RA)
This is a person usually residing in the household who was absent the night preceding the interview, but whose absence was less than six months in duration. For this person, you will record "RA" in the corresponding box in column 5. The person must be absent from the household for a period of time lesser than six months.
However, in certain cases, persons absent from their household for less than six months are still not considered "absent residents" in their household. They are recorded as present residents at the location in which they are present during the census counting and will not be counted in the households to which they are linked. This is the case for persons who are part of a collective household, such as:
- Detainees in a penitentiary;
- Workers staying in the rudimentary camp of a temporary construction site;
- Members of the military staying in barracks;
- Members of a religious community living in a convent or seminary;
- Persons finding themselves in analogous situations;
- Students residing in a dormitory at the time of the census reference date.
However, if students are on vacation from school and home with their families at the time of the census, count them with their parents as visitors and in the dormitory as absent residents.
Certain categories of people absent from their household for a period longer than six months will be considered absent residents (RA) in these households. This includes women who have just given birth with their family and who are staying there for longer than six months.
c) Visitors (VIS)
This concerns persons present in the household the night before the interview but who don't live there, because their primary residence is elsewhere.
[p. 24]
For these people, it is necessary to record "VIS" in column 5. These persons should be visiting for a period less than six (6) months. In general, persons staying in hotels are "visitors".
But if they do not have a residence and they work in Burkina Faso, they are then considered present or absent residents, according to their situation on reference night (ex: a person undergoing a transfer or a foreign expert/specialist who has not yet found housing).
A person who is a member of a collective household but staying the reference night with their family should be recorded as "VIS", because they are "RA" in their establishment.
d) Emigrants (EM)
The following are considered emigrants and shall be recorded as EM in column 5:
- Persons who have been outside of Burkina Faso for more than six months.
- Persons who have been outside of Burkina Faso for less than six months and have the intention of staying there for more than six months.
Other special cases:
- Burkinabe students who are abroad shall be classified in their household as RA regardless of the length of time of their absence;
- Workers (either seasonal or permanent) who are working abroad will be counted in their households if they are absent for a period of less than six (6) months;
- Persons working abroad in lieu of military service and foreign experts/specialists whose contracts are longer than six months are counted as residents: RP or RA.
- Foreign students are counted as residents: RP or RA.
- Tourists and other foreign visitors in Burkina Faso at the time of the census will be counted as visitors in their respective ordinary or collective households if the length of
[p. 25]
their stay is less than six months.
