Frequently Asked Questions
What is General Household Survey (GHS) and when is GHS conducted?
The General Household Survey (GHS) provides comprehensive data on Singapore’s population and households in between the Population Censuses which are conducted once in ten years. It covers a wide range of topics to provide information on the profile of population and households in Singapore. The GHS 2015 is the third in the series of mid-decade GHS, which was first conducted in 1995.
Why conduct General Household Survey (GHS)?
General Household Survey (GHS) is conducted to meet the statistical needs of Government Ministries, Departments, researchers, planners and the general public. The GHS provides a comprehensive snapshot of the characteristics on the population and households in Singapore.
What are the data collected in the General Household Survey (GHS)?
The General Household Survey (GHS) provides comprehensive data on Singapore’s population and households. Basic population count and characteristics such as age, sex, ethnic group, type of dwellings and geographic distribution in Singapore were compiled from administrative records from multiple sources. Additional information not available from administrative sources were collected from a sample survey. These included marital status and fertility, religion, education and literacy, home language, mode of transport, elderly profile as well as housing and household characteristics.
How is the General Household Survey (GHS) conducted?
In the previous GHS 2005, the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) adopted a register-based approach, supplemented with a large scale sample survey.
For GHS 2015, DOS continued to adopt the register-based approach where basic population statistics were compiled using administrative records from multiple sources. The merged administrative records provided the basic population count and characteristics such as age, sex, ethnic group, type of dwelling and geographic distribution in Singapore.
Additional information not available from administrative sources were collected from a sample survey of households. These included marital status and fertility, religion, education and literacy, home language, mode of transport, elderly profile as well as housing and household characteristics.
The sample survey for the GHS 2015 was conducted as part of the 2015 Comprehensive Household Survey (CHS), which also incorporated the Comprehensive Labour Force Survey (CLFS) conducted annually by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). This approach of having one CHS to provide information for the GHS and CLFS reduced the overall response burden and cost of having separate sample surveys for the GHS and CLFS.
Where is the latest survey data for the General Household Survey (GHS) published?
Data and key findings from the General Household Survey (GHS) 2015 are published on the department’s website.