Variable name

Variable description

Variable categories (classifications) for data transmission to the Commission (Eurostat)

Sex

Sex is the combination of biological and physiological characteristics that define a person to be either male or female. In cases where the biological sex of a person is not known, the information may be replaced by either the information from administrative data or the self-declared sex (survey data).

Age in completed years

Age in completed years is the age of the person at his or her last birthday before the reference date of the data collection or interview, namely the interval of time between the date of birth and the reference date, expressed in completed years.

The following information is to be provided under this variable:

The reference date is specific to each data collection (domain) as specified in the corresponding implementing legislation. However, in case of countries using an integrated system of household surveys with fixed reference week, the reference date is the last day of the reference week.

Partners living in the same household

Partners living in the same private household are persons living with another person considered as a partner on the basis of their actual living arrangements within the private household, regardless of whether the relationship with the partner is legally registered (e.g. marriage or civil union) or a de facto relationship.

A ‘partner’ can be defined according to the legal (husband or wife or civil partner) or de facto (partner or cohabitee) relationship status.

Household type

Household type is defined by a private household composition, where:

Main activity status (self-defined)

The self-defined main activity status is a person’s own perception of the current most important activity describing how he or she mainly perceives him or herself. While more than one activity status can apply to a person, only the most important one according to the person’s own perception and referring to the current situation is considered.

The category ‘compulsory military or civilian service’ may not apply in some countries, in which case it shall be dropped.

Full- or part-time main job (self-defined)

The variable describes the usual time-involvement in the main job of a person in employment, based on the person’s own perception (i.e. self-defined) of the usual hours worked in the main job.

The variable differentiates between full- or part-time jobs. The term job is used in reference to employment. A person who works in a part-time job normally works fewer hours than a comparable full-time worker. The distinction refers to the hours a person works usually in the main job over a longer reference period and it is self-defined, i.e. the person is to decide if his or her main job in the context of his or her profession or enterprise is part- or full-time.

Status in employment in main job

The variable is based on the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE) and refers to the main job of a person in employment, as follows:

Economic activity of the local unit for main job

The variable determines the economic sector or activity of the local unit (enterprise) in which the main job — of a person in employment — is located, according to the categories set up by the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE(3) Rev. 2).

The level of detail needed (1,2 or 3 digit level) is context-specific for each micro-data collection:

Occupation in main job

The variable determines the occupation in the main job of a person in employment, classified according to the categories set out by the International Standard Classification of Occupations, version 2008 (ISCO-08)(4).

The level of detail needed (2 or 4 digit level) is context-specific for each micro-data collection:

Educational attainment level

The educational attainment level of an individual is the highest ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education 2011(5)) level successfully completed. The successful completion of an education programme is validated by a qualification officially recognised by the relevant national education authorities or recognised as equivalent to another qualification of formal education. In countries where education programmes, in particular those belonging to ISCED levels 1 and 2, do not lead to a qualification, the criterion of full attendance of the programme and normally gaining access to a higher level of education may be used instead. When determining the highest level, both general and vocational education should be taken into consideration.

The concept of a ‘successful completion of an education programme’ typically corresponds to the situation in which a pupil or student attends courses or classes and obtains the final credential associated with a formal education programme. In this respect, educational attainment level corresponds to the highest level successfully completed in the ISCED ladder.

The educational attainment level is defined according to the ISCED.

The category ‘not applicable’ is to be used to count statistical units which are part of the population of the data source but for which it systematically does not report any information on the variable (e.g. persons below a certain age).

The level of detail of the information is context-specific for each data collection (domain). For each category ISCED-A codes are indicated where there is a one-to-one relationship between the categories and codes. Additional categories are specified for situations of incomplete information on access to tertiary education or orientation into account:

No formal education or below ISCED 1

0

ISCED 1 Primary education

1

ISCED 2 Lower secondary education

2

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education

3

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – general

34

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (general) – partial level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

342

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (general) – level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

343

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (general) – level completion, with direct access to tertiary education

344

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (general) – without possible distinction of access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – vocational

35

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (vocational) – partial level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

352

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (vocational) – level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

353

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (vocational) – level completion, with direct access to tertiary education

354

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (vocational) – without possible distinction of access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – orientation unknown

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (orientation unknown) – partial level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (orientation unknown) – level completion, without direct access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (orientation unknown) – level completion, with direct access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education (orientation unknown) – without possible distinction of access to tertiary education

-

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education

4

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – general

44

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – vocational

45

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – orientation unknown

-

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education

5

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – general

54

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – vocational

55

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – orientation unknown

-

ISCED 6 Bachelor’s or equivalent level

6

ISCED 7 Master’s or equivalent level

7

ISCED 8 Doctoral or equivalent level

8

Not stated

Not applicable

Country of birth

The country of birth of an individual is defined as the country of usual residence of the individual’s mother at the time of delivery, according to the current national boundaries (and not according to the boundaries in place at the time of birth).

If information on the place of usual residence of the mother at the time of the birth is not available, the place where the birth took place should be reported.

The list of countries and corresponding codes is defined according to the Eurostat Standard Code list (SCL) GEO(6)

Country of main citizenship

The variable reports on the country of the person’s main citizenship, defined as the particular legal bond between an individual and his or her State, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, choice, marriage or other means according to national legislation.

A person with two or more citizenships shall be allocated to only one country of citizenship, to be determined in the following order of priority:

In other cases (e.g. dual citizenship where both countries are within the Union but neither is the reporting country) the person may choose which country of citizenship is to be recorded or, if this information is not available, the reporting country may determine which country of citizenship is to be allocated.

The list of countries and corresponding codes is defined according to the Eurostat Standard Code list (SCL) GEO(6).

The category ‘stateless’ corresponds to a person without recognized citizenship of a state.

Country of birth of the father

The variable reports on the country of birth of the person’s father, i.e. the country of usual residence (in its current borders, if the information is available) of the mother of the person’s father at the time of his delivery, or, failing this, the country (in its current borders, if the information is available) in which the birth of the person’s father took place.

Information on the country of birth of the father should be obtained according to the same rules as provided for the variable ‘country of birth’.

‘Father’ is a male parent of a ‘son or daughter’, either natural (biological), adoptive or stepfather.

In case of a person having not only a natural (biological) father but also e.g. an adoptive or stepfather, the country of birth should refer to who actually raised the person and acted as father in an affective or legal sense, e.g. the male guardian.

In case of a person with same-sex parents, both being female, this variable may be used to report the country of birth of one of the mothers.

The list of countries and corresponding codes is defined according to the Eurostat Standard Code list (SCL) GEO(6).

Country of birth of the mother

The variable reports on the country of birth of the person’s mother, i.e. the country of usual residence (in its current borders, if the information is available) of the mother of the person’s mother at the time of her delivery, or, failing this, the country (in its current borders, if the information is available) in which the birth of the person’s mother took place.

Information on the country of birth of the mother should be obtained according to the same rules as provided for the variable ‘country of birth’.

‘Mother’ is a female parent of a ‘son or daughter’, either natural (biological), adoptive or stepmother.

In case of a person having not only a natural (biological) mother but also e.g. an adoptive or stepmother, the country of birth should refer to who actually raised the person and acted as mother in an affective or legal sense, e.g. the female guardian.

In case of a person with same-sex parents, both being male, this variable may be used to report the country of birth of one of the fathers.

The list of countries and corresponding codes is defined according to the Eurostat Standard Code list (SCL) GEO(6).

Country of residence

The country of residence is the country in which the person or the household have their usual residence, in accordance with the current national boundaries.

The list of countries and corresponding codes is defined according to the Eurostat Standard Code list (SCL) GEO(6).

Region of residence

The region of residence is the region, within the country of residence in which the person or the household have their usual residence, defined for Member States on the basis of the Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 and Annex I thereto.

The level of detail (NUTS 1, 2 or 3) is context-specific for each micro-data collection:

Degree of urbanisation

The variable reports on the degree of urbanisation of the area where the person or the household have their usual residence, by classifying the local administrative units (LAU) into one of three types of area:

Household grid

Household grid reports about the composition of private households and the intra-household relationships between household members. Household grid shall be in the form of a matrix containing the relationships between each and all members of the household, where each row and column corresponds to one member of the household, and where the relationship between the members is indicated by the standard categories in the cells where the row and column of the respective members are crossed, as follows:

The level of detail of the information is context-specific for each micro-data collection:

Household size

Household size is defined as the total number of members of a private household.

The variable provides information on the exact number of members of the household.

Tenure status of the household

The variable refers to the arrangements under which a private household occupies all or part of a housing unit, where:

The categories ‘owner with outstanding mortgage’ and ‘owner without outstanding mortgage’ are to be used for private households where at least one member of that household is the owner of the housing unit in which the household lives, regardless whether any other member of the household is a tenant of all or part of the housing unit. A person is an owner if he or she possesses a title deed, independently of whether the house is fully paid or not. A reversionary owner should be considered as the owner.

The category ‘owner with outstanding mortgage’ applies to the situations where the owner has to pay off at least one outstanding mortgages or any outstanding interest on the mortgage, or both, taken to buy this housing unit.

The category ‘owner without outstanding mortgage’ applies to the situations where there is neither any outstanding mortgage nor any interest to be repaid on the mortgage. Payoffs for mortgages or housing loans, or both, for any other housing unit (e.g. for a second dwelling) or for repairs, renovation, maintenance, or any non-housing purposes do not qualify.

The categories ‘tenant, rent at market price’ or ‘tenant, rent at reduced price’ are to be used for households of which at least one member is the tenant (housing unit rented from the owner) or subtenant (housing unit sub-rented from someone who himself is a tenant) of the housing unit in which he or she lives, and where no household member is the owner of that housing unit.

The category ‘tenant, rent at market price’ applies to households of which at least one member is the tenant or subtenant who pays rent at prevailing or market prices. The category also applies where rent at market price is paid but is partly or wholly recovered from housing benefits or other sources, including public, charitable, or private sources.

The category ‘tenant, rent at reduced price’ covers households living in housing units at a reduced price, i.e. a price is below the market price (but not rent-free), and includes cases where the price reduction is granted

The category ‘tenant, rent free’ covers households living in housing units rent-free, i.e. where no rent is paid, and includes cases where the free rent is granted

The category ‘not applicable’ covers all private households that do not live in conventional dwellings as defined in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009.

Net current monthly household income

The variable reports on the net current monthly income of a private household i.e. the sum of the income of all household members received individually or as a whole – including income from work, social benefits, and other cash income, and deducting cash transfers paid to other households – after taxes and contributions to social insurance.

The variable aims at providing information on the household income remaining available to be spent or saved monthly on average. In case the household income varies substantially from month to month, an estimation of the typical or usual net monthly income reflecting the current household income situation is to be provided. In case the monthly household income varies substantially over the year such as in case of seasonal activity, the monthly average of the annual income is to be provided.

Net current monthly income is to be provided either as total net current household income or as one of the five equivalised income groups.

The thresholds between the five equivalised income groups are determined by the quintiles of the variable distribution and are defined as follows:

Equivalisation consists of applying weights to the household members to reflect differences in household size and composition, as follows: a weight of 1.0 is applied to the first member of the household aged 14 or more, 0.5 to the second and each subsequent member aged 14 or over, and 0.3 to each child aged less than 14.

Permanency of main job

The variable distinguishes whether the main job has a limited duration (i.e. the job or contract will terminate after a predefined period), or is based on a permanent contract without a fixed end. The variable refers to the main job of a person in employment who is working as an employee.

The term job is used in reference to employment. The criterion determining whether a person is in employment is context-specific for each micro-data collection.

One job is a set of tasks and duties performed for a single economic unit. Persons may have one or several jobs. For employees, each contract can be considered as a separate set of tasks and duties, and consequently as a separate job. In cases of multiple job-holding, the main job is that with the longest hours usually worked, as defined in the international statistical standards on working time.

A job with a fixed-term contract will terminate either after a period of time determined in advance (by a known date), or after a period not known in advance, but nevertheless defined by objective criteria, such as the completion of an assignment or the period of absence of an employee temporarily replaced.

A job with a contract that has no such predefined end is counted as permanent.

What counts as a job is the contractual or the informal or verbal agreement of the employment relationship, and not the expectation that the respondent might have to lose the job, his or her plan to leave it, his or her wish to stay or the probability to stay there permanently.

The level of detail of the information is context-specific for each micro-data collection:

Supervisory responsibilities

The variable refers to the current main job of a person in employment who is an employee and it distinguishes between employees with and without supervisory tasks. A person is considered to have supervisory responsibilities when he or she formally supervises the work of at least one other person. Responsibilities toward apprentices and trainees do not count as supervision and neither does quality control (check output of services but not the work produced by other persons) or consultancy.

Year in which the person started working for his or her current employer or as self-employed

The variable refers to the current main job of a person in employment and reports on the year in which the person started to work for his or her current employer or as self-employed in the current business.

Size of the local unit for main job

The variable refers to the main job of a person in employment and reports on the number of persons working for the local unit including those working at the unit’s location, as well as those who work outside and organisationally belong to it and are paid by it. It also includes working proprietors and partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers, as well as part-time workers who are on the payroll. Seasonal workers, apprentices, trainees and home workers on the payroll are also included.

The local unit is an enterprise or part thereof situated in a geographically identified place.

Existence of previous employment experience

The variable provides information on whether a person — who is not in employment — has previously been in employment (in accordance with the International Labour Organisation definition of employment(7)), and on whether the previous employment experience was or not limited to purely occasional work.

The category ‘Person has never been in employment’ covers persons who have never had any employment experience.

The category ‘Person has employment experience limited to purely occasional work’ covers persons who have had employment experience, and this experience is limited to purely occasional work. For the purpose of this variable, work as a conscript should not be considered as employment experience.

The category ‘Person has employment experience other than purely occasional work’ covers persons who have had employment experience excluding cases where this experience is limited to purely occasional work.

Participation in formal education and training (student or apprentice) in reference period

The variable measures a person’s participation in formal education and training by establishing whether the person has been enrolled as a student or apprentice in a programme of formal education during the reference period (to be defined for each micro-data collection).

Level of the current or most recent formal education or training activity

The variable measures the level of the most recent formal education or training activity — to which a person participated during a given reference period (to be defined for each micro-data collection) - according to the categories of the International Standard Classification of Education for Education Programmes 20115 (ISCED-P 2011).

The level of detail of the information is context-specific for each data collection (domain). For each category ISCED-P codes are indicated where there is a one-to-one relation between category and the code:

ISCED 0 Early childhood education

0

ISCED 1 Primary education

1

ISCED 2 Lower secondary education

2

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education

3

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – general

34

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – vocational

35

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education – orientation unknown8

-

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education

4

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – general

44

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – vocational

45

ISCED 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education – orientation unknown8

-

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education

5

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – general

54

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – vocational

55

ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary education – orientation unknown8

-

ISCED 6 Bachelor’s or equivalent level

6

ISCED 7 Master’s or equivalent level

7

ISCED 8 Doctoral or equivalent level

8

Not stated(1)

Not applicable(2)

Year when the highest level of education was successfully completed

Year when the highest level of education was successfully completed (expressed in four digits).

The variable refers to the year when the highest level of education was successfully completed and concerns persons with educational attainment level of primary education (ISCED 1) or above.

The category ‘not applicable’ covers individuals with no formal education or an educational attainment level below primary school education (ISCED 1). The category ‘not applicable’ is also to be used to count statistical units which are part of the population of the data source but for which it systematically does not report any information on the variable (e.g. persons below a certain age).

Field of the highest level of education successfully completed

The field of the highest level of education successfully completed by persons with educational attainment level of ISCED 3 or above.

The field of the highest level of education successfully completed is based on ‘ISCED Fields of Education and Training’ (ISCED-F 2013)(8) A field is the broad domain, branch or area of content covered by an education programme or qualification.

The category ‘not applicable’ covers individuals with no formal education or an educational attainment level below ISCED 3.

The level of detail of the information is context-specific for each data collection (domain). For each category ISCED-F codes are indicated where there is a one-to-one relation between category and the code(9):

Generic programmes and qualifications

00

Basic programmes and qualifications

001

Literacy and numeracy

002

Personal skills and development

003

Generic programmes and qualifications not further defined

(009)

Education

01

Education

011

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving education

018

Arts and humanities

02

Arts

021

Humanities (except languages)

022

Languages

023

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving arts and humanities

028

Arts and humanities not further defined

(029)

Social sciences, journalism and information

03

Social and behavioural sciences

031

Journalism and information

032

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving social sciences, journalism and information

038

Social sciences, journalism and information not further defined

(039)

Business, administration and law

04

Business and administration

041

Law

042

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving business, administration and law

048

Business, administration and law not further defined

(049)

Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics

05

Biological and related sciences

051

Environment

052

Physical sciences

053

Mathematics and statistics

054

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving natural sciences, mathematics and statistics

058

Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics not further defined

(059)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

06

Information and Communication Technologies

061

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

068

Engineering, manufacturing and construction

07

Engineering and engineering trades

071

Manufacturing and processing

072

Architecture and construction

073

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving engineering, manufacturing and construction

078

Engineering, manufacturing and construction not further defined

(079)

Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary

08

Agriculture

081

Forestry

082

Fisheries

083

Veterinary

084

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary

088

Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary not further defined

(089)

Health and welfare

09

Health

091

Welfare

092

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving health and welfare

098

Health and welfare not further defined

(099)

Services

10

Personal services

101

Hygiene and occupational health services

102

Security services

103

Transport services

104

Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving services

108

Services not further defined

(109)

Not stated

Not applicable

Duration of stay in the country of residence in completed years

Duration of stay in the country of residence in completed years describes the interval of time since the point in time when a person most recently established his or her usual residence in the reporting country, expressed in completed years, as one of the following:

Self-perceived general health

The self-perceived general health is a subjective assessment by the individual concerning person’s health in general (rather than the present state of health or possible temporary health problems) including different dimensions of health, i.e. physical and emotional functioning, mental health (covering psychological well-being and mental disorders), and biomedical signs and symptoms.

Long-standing health problem

The variable ‘long-standing health problems’ is a subjective assessment by the individual concerning person’s chronic health problems covering different physical, emotional, behavioural and mental dimensions of health, diseases, and disorders, as well as pain, ill-health caused by accidents and injuries or congenital conditions. The characteristics of a long-standing or chronic condition are that it is permanent and may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation or care. Longstanding illnesses or health problems should have lasted (or recurred) or are expected to last (recur) for 6 months or more.

The category ‘yes’ refers to the occurrence of one or more long-standing or chronic health problems, and ‘no’ refers to the absence of any long-standing or chronic health problem as perceived by the respondent.

Limitation in activities because of health problems

The variable measures the individual self-assessed level of long-lasting ongoing limitation or limitations (of at least 6 months) due to health problem or problems (whether physical, mental or emotional, including impairment or limitations due to an old age) in participation in activities that the person would otherwise usually undertake or carry out.

An activity is defined as the performance of a task or action by an individual. Activity limitations are defined as difficulties by an individual in performing an activity, assessed against a generally accepted population standard, relative to cultural and social expectations in relation to activities that people usually do, covering all spectrums of work or school, home and leisure activities.

Persons with recurring or fluctuating health conditions should refer to the most frequent situation impacting their usual activities:

Interviewing mode used

The variable reports on the method used to collect information from the respondent. In case where multiple modes are used to collect data from a respondent, the variable reports on the most predominantly used mode.

In PAPI, CAPI and CATI an interviewer is present. CAWI is self-administered and the respondent follows a script provided on the website.

The category ‘other’ applies when the interviewing mode used is not covered by the other categories, e.g. paper assisted self-administered interview (PASI) or non-web-based computer assisted self-administered interview (CASI).

The category ‘not applicable’ is to be used to count statistical units — which are part of the population of the data source — for which no information on this variable is systematically reported e.g. in case of persons below a certain age, as well as in case all the information has been obtained from registers (i.e. administrative data) or imputed, or both, and no interview has taken place.

Nature of participation in the survey

The variable reports on whether the information requested has been provided by the designated respondent, or via another person (proxy respondent).

The designated respondent is the person indicated in the provisions for each micro-data collection who is requested to provide the information.

‘Direct participation’ refers to a situation where the designated respondent provides the requested information by him or herself. Direct participation also includes cases in which the designated respondent has provided the requested information with assistance of another person (e.g. translation, physical assistance) and has validated the answers provided.

‘Indirect participation’ refers to a situation where the information requested to the designated respondent has been provided by a third person (i.e. proxy respondent) without being validated by the designated respondent.

The category ‘not applicable’ is to be used to count statistical units — which are part of the population of the data source — for which no information on this variable is systematically reported as well as in case all the information has been obtained from registers (i.e. administrative data) or imputed, or both, and no interview has taken place.

Stratum

The primary stratum corresponding to each observation unit (individual person or household) in case the target population (or a part thereof) is stratified at the first stage of the sample design, providing identification codes for the different strata (stratum identifier). Stratifying a population means dividing it into non-overlapping subpopulations, called strata. Independent samples are then selected within each stratum.

The information recorded always refers to the situation at the time of the selection of the concerned statistical unit (individual person or household).

The category ‘stratum identifier’ provides the identification code of the stratum each observation unit (individual or household) belongs to. Stratum identification codes are to be used in case the target population has been stratified, or in case self-representing primary sampling units (PSUs) have been considered.

The category ‘not applicable’ is to be used in case the target population has not been stratified at the first stage of the sampling process (e.g. when the sample has been drawn by simple random sampling or by cluster random sampling), and self-representing PSUs have not been considered.

Primary Sampling Unit (PSU)

The variable reports on the primary sampling unit (PSU) corresponding to each observation unit (individual person or household) in case the target population is divided into clusters, providing identification codes for the clusters or PSUs.

A population is divided into clusters (i.e. disjoint sub-populations) in case direct-element sampling is either impossible (due to lack of sampling frame) or its implementation too expensive (the population is widely distributed geographically). A sample of clusters (PSUs) is then selected at the first stage of the sampling process.

The information recorded always refers to the situation at the time of the selection of the concerned unit (individual or household).

The category ‘primary sampling unit identifier’ provides the identification code of the PSU (among the selected PSUs) each observation unit (individual or household) belongs to, in case the target population has been divided into clusters in the first stage of sampling.

The category ‘not applicable’ is to be used when the target population has not been clustered at the first stage of the sampling process, e.g. when the sample has been drawn by simple random sampling or by stratified random sampling.