South African Census 1991

South Africa, 1991

Get Microdata

Reference ID

zaf-css-census-1991-v1.2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25828/hsh2-9x72

Producer(s)

Central Statistical Service

Collections

South African Population Censuses and Surveys

Metadata

Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON

Created on

Oct 22, 2012

Last modified

Apr 16, 2026

Page views

146600

Downloads

11595

Identification

Survey ID number

zaf-css-census-1991-v1.2

Title

South African Census 1991

Abbreviation or Acronym

Census 1991

Country

Name	Country code
South Africa	zaf

Study type

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Series Information

South African Census

Other identifiers

Type	Identifier
doi	https://doi.org/10.25828/hsh2-9x72

Abstract

The 1991 South African population census was an enumeration of the population and housing in South Africa.The census collected data on dwellings and individuals' demographic, family and employment details.

Kind of Data

Census enumeration data

Unit of Analysis

Households and individuals

Version

Version Description

Version 1.2: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution.

Version Date

2026

Version Notes

Version 1.1: This version was downloaded from Statistics South Africa's website on the 28th of April, 201. It differs from the version downloaded from SSA's website on the 20th of July 2007 (version 1).

The data file "SA Census 1991 PP_20110428_1.1" has been split into 5 files to reduce the size of the files to be downloaded. The new files are: "SA Census 1991 PP_PR1_20110428_v1.1", "SA Census 1991 PP_PR2_20110428_v1.1", "SA Census 1991 PP_PR3_20110428_v1.1", "SA Census 1991 PP_PR4_20110428_v1.1" and "SA Census 1991 PP_PR5to10_20110428_v1.1". Data users who wish to analyze this data at the national level should append the split files to create one dataset.

Version 1.2: The South African EA data file and District data file have been merged into one data file (sa-census-1991-dist-v1.2). The resulting data file contains the 3-digit occupation codes, the 2-digit economic sector codes, and the enumaration area (EA) codes.

Scope

Notes

The scope of the South African census 1991 includes the following themes:
Households: dwelling type, ownership type, type of area (rural/urban)
Individuals: relationship within household, sex, age, marital status, population group, birthplace, citizenship, duration of residency, religion, education level, language, literacy,employment status, occupation, economic sector and income.

Keywords

housing family life and marriage gender and gender roles censuses migration religion and values employment unemployment Education

Coverage

Geographic Coverage

The South African Census 1991 covered the whole of South Africa. The "homelands" of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei were enumerated separately and the dataset contains data files for Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei. The dataset does not include a data file for the Transkei as this was never provided by Statistics South Africa.

Geographic Unit

The lowest geographic level in the population census 1991 is enumerator area.

Universe

The 1991 Population Census was enumerated on a de facto basis, that is, according to the place where persons were located during the census. All persons who were present on Republic of South African territory during census night (i.e. at midnight between 7 and 8 March 1991) were therefore enumerated and included in the data. Visitors from abroad who were present in the RSA on holiday or business on the night of the census, as well as foreigners (and their families) who were studying or economically active, were enumerated and included in the figures. The Diplomatic and Consular Corps of foreign countries were not included. Crews and passengers of ships were also not enumerated, except those who were present at the harbours of the RSA on census night. Similarly, residents of the RSA who were absent from the night were not enumerated. Personnel of the South African Government stationed abroad and their families were, however enumerated. Such persons were included in the Transvaal (Pretoria).

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators

Name	Affiliation
Central Statistical Service	Government of South Africa

Sampling

Deviations from the Sample Design

As a result of the unplanned and unstructured nature of certain residential areas, as well as the inaccessibility of certain areas during the preparations for the enumeration of census, comprehensive door-to-door surveys were not possible. The Human Sciences Research Council had to enumerate these areas by means of sample surveys. 88 areas country-wide were enumerated on this basis.

Survey instrument

Questionnaires

The 1991 Population Census questionnaire covered particulars of households: dwelling type, ownership type, type of area (rural/urban) and particulars of individuals: relationship within household, sex, age, marital status, population group, birthplace, citizenship, duration of residency, religion, education level, language, literacy,employment status, occupation, economic sector and income.

Data collection

Dates of Data Collection

Start	End
1991-03-07	1991-03-08

Data Collection Mode

Face-to-face [f2f]

Data Collectors

Name	Affiliation	Abbreviation
Central Statistical Service	Government of South Africa	CSS

access_policy

Access authority

Name	Affiliation	URL	Email
DataFirst	University of Cape Town		info@data1st.org

Access conditions

Public use files, available to all

Citation requirements

Central Statistical Service. Population Census 1991 [dataset]. Version 1.1. Pretoria: Central Statistical Service (now Statistics South Africa) [producer], 2004. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/hsh2-9x72

Contacts

Name	Affiliation	Email	URL
DataFirst Helpdesk	University of Cape Town	support@data1st.org

Metadata production

Producers

Name	Affiliation	Role
DataFirst	University of Cape Town	Metadata Producer

Date of Metadata Production

2026-04-16

Metadata version

DDI Document version

Version 6

Citation

loading, please wait...

Export citation: RIS | BibTeX | Plain text

Back to Catalog