IPUMS International

IPUMS International has added 19 new census samples and new labor force surveys.  First-time data release countries include four new countries from four different continents—Finland, Mauritius, Myanmar, and Suriname. Other newly added samples extend pre-existing series. Another first is the addition of labor force surveys from Spain and Italy. See a summary of the full IPUMS collection on the IPUMSI samples page.

In addition to the new data, check out the usage-enhancing highlights that are part of this recent release.

• Spatially-harmonized migration variables
• New work variables that maximize the utility of newly-harmonized labor force surveys
• New disability variables per The Washington Group recommendations
• Access to harmonization tables and code for registered IPUMS data users
• Population density variables for all samples with the requisite geography- POPDENSGEO1 and POPDENSGEO2 capture the population density in persons per square kilometer of the first and second administrative units of the household, respectively.
• Variables AREAMOLLWGEO1 and AREAMOLLWGEO2 provided for additional convenience
• New lower level single-sample variables for select countries, as well as regionalized variables and shapefiles at the 3rd administrative level for Senegal 2013 and 2002, South Africa 2016, 2011, and 2007, and Uganda 2014, and Myanmar 2014

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By Lara Cleveland

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, researchers across the globe have been accessing census microdata from IPUMS International for COVID-19-related research. Scholars at universities from the U.S. to Nepal, Columbia to Belgium, Nigeria to China, and elsewhere have used IPUMS data to assess population dynamics contributing to COVID-19 vulnerability or spread. Divisions of the United Nations, World Bank, and other policy research institutes have similarly accessed IPUMS census data for COVID response and relief efforts.

IPUMS International harmonizes and disseminates household-level microdata census samples from more than 100 countries. Access to microdata is essential for rapid response in new areas because of its analytic flexibility. Researchers needing to build custom tables or construct variables for complex modeling suited to specific research questions can only do that with microdata. Of particular interest for research on population dynamics of COVID-19 is information about the age structure of the population, household living arrangements (household size, intergenerational co-residence, etc.), indicators of health vulnerability (age, work status, housing conditions, disability, etc.), healthcare workforce distribution, and migration patterns. IPUMS International census samples also include valuable subnational geographic identifiers at the first and second administrative levels, which are especially useful for highlighting particular regions or localities of vulnerability.

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