Interviewer instructions
11.5.1 Personal characteristics. The first five questions dealing with personal characteristics are presented to persons of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest persons. The last question, relating to de facto conjugal status, is only presented to those 15 years of age and older.
e) Question 5. Legal marital status. On the census form, the legal marital status or the de facto conjugal status is requested separately of all enumerated persons. Question 5 refers exclusively to the legal marital status of the enumerated person. In order to avoid confusion, each of the states appearing on the census form are defined below: i) unmarried: one who has never been married; ii) married: one who has entered into a valid and lawful marriage and who maintains that status at the time of the census. Included in this group are those persons in de facto separation because this circumstance does not affect the validity of their marriage. A de facto separation is one that takes place through the initiative or agreement of both parties, without legal intervention. iii) widowed: a married person whose spouse had passed away by the time of the census and who has not remarried. iv) divorced: a person who has obtained a legal separation from his/her spouse and who is legally authorized to remarry. v) legally separated: a married person who lives separated from his spouse due to a legal judgment and who cannot remarry. This definition excludes those in a de facto separation. vi) annulled: a person whose marriage was declared null or invalid by a legal judgment.
