Vital Statistics

Methodology

Madrid, June 2013

 Index

1. Objective 4

2. Type of operation 5

3. Content 6

3.1 Birth statistics 6

3.1.1 Study and classification variables, both direct and derived 6

3.2 Late Foetal Death Statistics 10

3.2.1 Study and classification variables, both direct and derived 11

3.3 Childbirth (Delivery) statistics 11

3.3.1 Study and classification variables, both direct and derived 12

3.4 Marriage statistics 12

3.4.1 Study and classification variables, both direct and derived 12

3.5 Death statistics 15

3.5.1 Study and classification variables, both direct and derived 15

4. Characteristics of the statistical process 17

4.1 Administrative source of the data 17

4.2 Legal basis of the administrative source 17

INE. National Statistics Institute

4.3 Observation units to which the primary data of the admin-

istrative source refers 17

4.4 Collection method for the original administrative data 17

4.5 Frequency of collecting the original administrative data 17

4.6 Collection method for the data for statistical purposes

based on the original administrative data 18

4.6.1 Births 18

2
4.6.2 Deaths 19

4.6.3 Marriages 20

4.7 Statistical forms 21

5. Dissemination plan and frequency of dissemination 23

Annex: provisional results of the Vital Statistics 24

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3
1. Objective

Vital Statistics have the main objective of ascertaining the number of births, mar-
riages and deaths that take place within the Spanish territory, as well as the main
characteristics relating to these demographic phenomena.

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4
2. Type of operation

Vital Statistics obtain aggregate data in the form of tables, with the breakdown
levels of Autonomous Communities, provinces, capitals, municipalities with
more than 50,000 inhabitants, and in some tables, reaching a municipality level.

INE. National Statistics Institute

5
3. Content

Vital Statistics, which basically refer to the births, marriages and deaths occur-
ring within the Spanish territory, constitute one of the most traditional statistical
operations in the National Statistics Institute. The first volume was published in
1863 by the National General Board of Statistics, and contains data on the period
from 1858 to 1861, which was obtained from parish registers. Since that time,
information has consistently been published in Spain regarding these demo-
graphic phenomena, with the sole interruption during the period from 1871 to
1885, the time when the Civil Register was implemented, and from which data
was subsequently obtained for these statistics.
The demographic concepts used for the compilation of these publications have
been practically the same every year, without any variations other than those
caused by the change in the information source, which fundamentally consists of
the replacement of baptised persons by those registered in the Civil Register,
and of Catholic marriage by civil marriage.

3.1 Birth Statistics

As with the rest of the Vital Statistics, the Birth Statistics collect the data from the
statistical registers filled out at the time of registering these demographic facts in
the Civil Register. This circumstance has traditionally motivated the use, in the
Vital Statistics, of the concepts of newborn, deceased infant, marriage and death,
with the meanings given them in the Civil Code.
Bearing in mind that, for civil purposes and according to the previous wording of
Article 30 of the Civil Code1, "a foetus will only be classified as born if it has a
human-like appearance and lives for twenty-four hours completely outside the
mother's womb”, the birth and death statistics compiled up until 1975 did not
adjust to the internationally recognised demographic contents, since they did not
include those live birth infants who died before the first 24 hours of existence,
since the Civil Code calls them "deceased infants" (Art. 745).
Although the use of this concept does not noticeably alter the global figures of
births and deaths, it does considerably modify some specific death rates (infant,
neonatal, perinatal, etc.). In order to negate this drawback, it was necessary to
extract, from the so-called Miscarriage Statistics, the live births, to calculate the
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"rectified rates".
Since 1975, the concept of birth in the tables presenting the results of the Vital
Statistics is identified by the biological term "live birth", which is that used in the
demographic field, with the corresponding effect on the concept of death.
With the new wording of article 30 of the Civil Code (third final provision of Law
20/2011 of 21 July, of the Civil Register) it is necessary to fulfil the administrative
requirements for statistical purposes, if the child is a live birth and deceases
within the first 24 hours of life, a childbirth register and a death register. The in-
strument used for the data collection is the Childbirth Statistical Register.
1
Royal Decree of 24 July 1889 and its subsequent amendments.

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3.1.1 STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION VARIABLES, BOTH DIRECT AND DERIVED

The variables used in these statistics are the following:

Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)
Province of registration of birth
Municipality of registration of birth
Day of registration of birth
Month of registration of birth
Year of registration of birth
Volume of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Page of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Sheet of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Day of registration in the Deceased Infants Registry of the stillborn infant or live
birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Month of registration in the Deceased Infants Registry of the stillborn infant or
live birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Year of registration in the Deceased Infants Registry of the stillborn infant or live
birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Day of childbirth
Month of childbirth Year of childbirth
Province where the childbirth took place
Municipality where the childbirth took place
Day of childbirth
Month of childbirth
Year of childbirth
Place of birth.- health care centre, home or other
Assisted childbirth.- by health care staff or unassisted by health care staff
Multiplicity of childbirth.- singleton, twins, triplets, quadruplets or more
Normality of childbirth.- normal or dystocia (abnormal or difficult labour)
Caesarean.- with caesarean or without caesarean
Weeks of pregnancy.- 37 weeks or more (to term), less than 37 weeks (premature)
Exact number of weeks of pregnancy
INE. National Statistics Institute

Given name of the mother

First surname of the mother
Second surname of the mother
Day of birth of the mother
Month of birth of the mother
Year of birth of the mother
ID card of the mother.- National ID Passport, ID for foreign nationals
Nationality of the mother.- Spanish or foreign
Country of nationality of the mother
Moment of acquisition of the nationality of the mother.- birth or subsequently

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Place of birth of the mother.- Spain or abroad
Province of birth of the mother
Municipality of birth of the mother
Country of birth of the mother.- for those mothers born abroad
Place of residence of the mother.- Spain or abroad
Province of residence of the mother
Municipality of residence of the mother
Country of residence of the mother.- for those mothers resident abroad
Type of road of the residence of the mother
Name of the road of the residence of the mother
Street number of the residence of the mother
Entrance number of the residence of the mother
Block number of the residence of the mother
Staircase number of the residence of the mother
Floor number of the residence of the mother
Door (flat number) of the residence of the mother
Postal code of the residence of the mother
Highest level of studies completed by the mother
Profession, trade or main occupation of the mother
Marital status or cohabitation situation of the mother.- Married, single, separated
or divorced, widowed
First marriage
Day of the current marriage
Month of the current marriage
Year of the current marriage
Mother lives with common law partner
First stable union
Day of the beginning of the current stable union
Month of the beginning of the current stable union
Year of the beginning of the current stable union
Number of children she has had throughout her life, counting this delivery (living
and dead)
INE. National Statistics Institute

Number of live births in previous deliveries

Day of birth of the previous child
Month of birth of the previous child
Year of birth of the previous child
Place of birth of the previous child.- Spain or abroad
Province of birth of the previous child
Municipality of birth of the previous child
Country of birth of the previous child.- for those previous children born abroad
Nationality of the previous child.- Spanish or foreign
Country of nationality of the previous child

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Given name of the father
First surname of the father
Second surname of the father
Day of birth of the father
Month of birth of the father
Year of birth of the father
ID card of the father.- National ID, Passport, ID for foreign nationals
Nationality of the father.- Spanish or foreign
Country of nationality of the father
Moment of acquisition of the nationality of the father.- birth or subsequently
Place of birth of the father.- Spain or abroad
Province of birth of the father
Municipality of birth of the father
Country of birth of the father.- for those fathers born abroad
Place of residence of the father.- the same or a difference residence as that of the
mother
Residence of the father.- Spain or abroad
Province of residence of the father
Municipality of residence of the father
Country of residence of the father.- for those fathers resident abroad
Type of road of the residence of the father
Name of the road of the residence of the father
Street number of the residence of the father
Entrance number of the residence of the father
Block number of the residence of the father
Staircase number of the residence of the father
Floor number of the residence of the father
Door (flat number) of the residence of the father
Postal code of the residence of the father
Highest level of studies completed by the father
Profession, trade or main occupation of the father
Given name of the newborn
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First surname of the newborn

Second surname of the newborn
Nationality of the newborn.- Spanish or foreign
Country of nationality of the newborn
Sex of the newborn
Weight of the newborn
Live birth or stillbirth
The newborn lived more than 24 hours or less than 24 hours

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 For stillborn infants or live birth infants who live less than 24 hours, the following
variables are used:
Main illness or condition of the foetus or newborn
Main illness or condition of the mother, which affected the foetus or newborn
First digit of the code of the cause of death of the newborn
Second and third digits of the code of the cause of death of the newborn
Fourth digit of the code of the cause of death of the newborn
Autopsy.- an autopsy was performed or no autopsy was performed
Whether the infant died before or during childbirth.- for stillborn infants
Size of the municipality of registration
Size of the municipality of the childbirth
Size of the municipality of birth of the mother
Size of the municipality of residence of the mother
Size of the municipality of birth of the father
Size of the municipality of residence of the father
Size of the municipality of birth of the previous child
Age of the mother, in complete years, at the birth of the child
Age of the mother, in complete years, on marrying
Age of the mother, in complete years, at the beginning of the stable relationship
Years married
Years of the mother in a stable relationship
Order of birth.- this refers to the number of live births that the mother has had
throughout her life, including this delivery
Birth interval.- this is understood to be the period of time elapsing between two
consecutive births. The first interval, or the protogenesic interval, refers to the
period of time between the date of marriage and the date of the first birth.
Age of the father, in complete years, at the birth of the child

3.2 Late Foetal Death Statistics

From a theoretical perspective, a late foetal death is the death of a viable product
INE. National Statistics Institute

of conception, before complete expulsion or extraction from its mother. This vi-
ability is precisely what serves to differentiate between late foetal deaths and
miscarriages. Traditionally, the World Health Organisation identifies the viability
of a foetus with a gestational age of more than 28 complete weeks of pregnancy.
Nevertheless, currently, the W.H.O. recommends the use of the weight criterion
at the time of expulsion or extraction of the foetus, although the number of
grams that should be considered as the limit for viability is subject to debate.
Despite this lack of international standardisation regarding weight, the difficulty
in obtaining exact weights of all foetuses at the end of expulsion, and above all,
that in Spain there is only an obligation of communicating, to the Civil Register,

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 the foetal deaths of foetuses older than 180 days of gestation (Art. 45 of the Law
of 8 June 1957), this means that for the purposes of these statistics, the criterion
of considering a late foetal death to be that of a foetus that has died and has a
weight of 500 grams or more.
It must be noted that the content of the Late Foetal Death Statistics is the con-
tinuation of what was, until 1974, the so-called Miscarriage Statistics, if the ear-
lier version included live birth infants who died during the first 24 hours of life,
and all of the foetal deaths stated, irregardless of their time of gestation. The
Late Foetal Death Statistics imply a greater uniformity in their content and a bet-
ter adaptation to the medical-biological terminology, since as stated, the concept
of miscarriage solely means the expulsion or extraction of an unviable product of
conception from the body of the mother.
The characteristics used to classify late foetal deaths are similar to those used in
the tabulation of births. It is only necessary to highlight that, in order to be able
to study perinatal mortality in detail, we have included in late foetal deaths the
causes thereof, encoding them to four digits, according to the 10th revision of
the International Classification of Diseases (I.C.D.) of the W.H.O.
The instrument used for the data collection, in this case as well, is the Childbirth
Statistical Register.

3.2.1 STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION VARIABLES, BOTH DIRECT AND DERIVED

The variables included in these statistics are the same as in the Birth Statistics

3.3 Childbirth (Delivery) Statistics

The Birth Statistics and Late Foetal Death Statistics are completed with the
Childbirth Statistics. The definition of childbirth used in these statistics coincides
with the medical-biological concept, that is, the expulsion or extraction of a vi-
able product of conception from its mother. Therefore, miscarriage or expulsion
of the unviable foetus is excluded.
The reason for the statistical treatment of Childbirth as an independent phe-
nomenon lies in that it shows, as a whole, viable fertility, as it encompasses both
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births and late foetal deaths.

The relationship existing among these three concepts is as follows:
Singleton deliveries + 2 times the twin deliveries + 3 times the triplet deliveries +
... = births + late foetal deaths.
The content of the Childbirth Statistics is the continuation of the previously so-
called Birth Statistics, which included all deaths stated, irregardless of the time of
gestation.
The base information is obtained through the Childbirth Statistical Register.

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3.3.1 STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION VARIABLES, BOTH DIRECT AND DERIVED

The variables included in these statistics are the same as in the Birth Statistics,
including information relating to each newborn in multiple deliveries.

3.4 Marriage Statistics

The Marriage Statistics experienced an important variation in the year 2005, for
the purpose of the entry into force of Law 13/2005, of 1 July (B.O.E. of 2 July
2005), modifying the Civil Code in terms of the right to marry. Said law allows
marriages between persons of the same or different sexes, with complete and
equal rights and responsibilities, irregardless of the composition of said mar-
riages. The sex variable of each of the spouses was introduced in the statistical
register. These statistics include all marriages registered in the Civil Register.
This analyses the characteristics of both different-sex marriages and same-sex
marriages. The study variables are the following: place of registration of the mar-
riage and month of celebration, form of celebration (Catholic religion, another
religion or solely civil), previous residence of each spouse, planned place of resi-
dence of the married couple, year of birth, age and profession of both spouses,
marital status, sex, nationality.
Two types of register are used for the information collection, the Statistical Mar-
riage Register and the Ecclesiastical Marriage Register.

3.4.1 STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION VARIABLES, BOTH DIRECT AND DERIVED

The variables used in these statistics are the following:

Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)
Province of celebration / registration of the marriage
Municipality of celebration / registration of the marriage
Year of registration of the marriage
Month of registration of the marriage
Day of registration of the marriage
INE. National Statistics Institute

Volume of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register

Page of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register
Sheet of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register
Year of celebration of the marriage
Month of celebration of the marriage
Day of celebration of the marriage
Type of celebration of the marriage.- By the Catholic religion, by any other relig-
ion, solely civil
Province of residence of the married couple
Municipality of residence of the married couple

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Country of residence of the married couple
Type of road of the residence of the married couple
Name of the road of the residence of the married couple
Street number of the road of the residence of the married couple
Staircase number of the residence of the married couple
Floor number of the residence of the married couple
Flat (door number) of the residence of the married couple
First surname of spouse 1
Second surname of spouse 1
Given name of spouse 1
Year of birth of spouse 1
Month of birth of spouse 1
Day of birth of spouse 1
Sex of spouse 1
ID card of spouse 1. - National ID, Passport, ID for foreign nationals
Country of nationality of spouse 1
Acquisition of nationality of spouse 1. - birth, acquired subsequently
Province of birth of spouse 1
Municipality of birth of spouse 1
Country of birth of spouse 1
Marital status of spouse 1 - single, widowed, divorced
Year of death of the previous spouse if spouse 1 is widowed
Month of death of the previous spouse if spouse 1 is widowed
Day of death of the previous spouse if spouse 1 is widowed
Order number of the current marriage if spouse 1 is widowed
Year of divorce if spouse 1 is divorced
Month of divorce if spouse 1 is divorced
Day of divorce if spouse 1 is divorced
Order number of the current marriage if spouse 1 is divorced
Province of residence of spouse 1
Municipality of residence of spouse 1
Country of residence of spouse 1
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Type of road of the residence of spouse 1

Name of the road of the residence of spouse 1
Street number of the residence of spouse 1
Staircase number of the residence of spouse 1
Floor number of the residence of spouse 1
Door (flat number) of the residence of spouse 1
Educational level of spouse 1
Profession of spouse 1
First surname of spouse 2
Second surname of spouse 2

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Given name of spouse 2
Year of birth of spouse 2
Month of birth of spouse 2
Day of birth of spouse 2
Sex of spouse 2
Id card of spouse 2. - National ID, Passport, ID for foreign nationals
Country of nationality of spouse 2
Acquisition of nationality of spouse 2.- birth, acquired subsequently
Province of birth of spouse 2
Municipality of birth of spouse 2
Country of birth of spouse 2
Marital status of spouse 2 - single, widowed, divorced
Year of death of the previous spouse if spouse 2 is widowed
Month of death of the previous spouse if spouse 2 is widowed
Day of death of the previous spouse if spouse 2 is widowed
Order number of the current marriage if spouse 2 is widowed
Year of divorce if spouse 2 is divorced
Month of divorce if spouse 2 is divorced
Day of divorce if spouse 2 is divorced
Order number of the current marriage if spouse 2 is divorced
Province of residence of spouse 2
Municipality of residence of spouse 2
Country of residence of spouse 2
Type of road of the residence of spouse 2
Name of the road of the residence of spouse 2
Street number of the residence of spouse 2
Staircase number of the residence of spouse 2
Floor number of the residence of spouse 2
Door (flat number) of the residence of spouse 2
Educational level of spouse 2
Profession of spouse 2
Size of the municipality of registration
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Size of the municipality where marriage was celebrated

Size of the municipality of residence of the married couple
Size of the municipality of birth of spouse 1
Size of the municipality of birth of spouse 2
Size of the municipality of residence of spouse 1
Size of the municipality of residence of spouse 2
Age, in complete years, of spouse 1
Age, in complete years, of spouse 2

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3.5 Death Statistics
As can be derived from the above, on treating the Birth Statistics and the Late
Foetal Death Statistics, the statistical concept of death traditionally used in Spain
comprised all the deaths of persons who had lived for more than 24 hours. As of
1975, this concept has been broadened to include live birth infants that die in the
first 24 hours of life. This change is fundamental, as it implies the adoption of the
death criterion recommended by the International Organisations.
Worth noting is that deaths are classified according to age and year of birth. The
age at death is calculated as the difference between the date of death and the
date of birth, with the exception of infants younger than 24 hours old. Another
important modification introduced is the classification of deaths according to
residence, although the classification by place of death remains. As in the rest of
the Vital Statistics, the demographic phenomena are classified by residence, ex-
cept if a table expressly indicates another classification criterion.
Worth a special mention is the study of deaths according to cause of death,
which had been tabulated to three digits according to the International Classifica-
tion of Diseases of the W.H.O., and which, starting in 1975, was extended to a
fourth digit, which is the maximum specification allowed by the I.C.D.
The information is included in the unified Medical Death Certificate / Statistical
Death Register (CMB/BED). The Statistical Childbirth Register is used as the
source of information only for the cases of live births that decease in the first 24
hours of life and as long as the corresponding CMD/BED has not been located. In
those deaths occurring in violent or unclear circumstances, requiring judicial in-
tervention, no medical death certificate is issued, and therefore, the registration
in the Civil Register is carried out with a Court order. In this type of death, the
document that includes both the order for registration in the Civil Register and
the information regarding the causes of death is another document, known as
the Judicial Statistical Death Register (BEDJ), filled in by the Court.

3.5.1 STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION VARIABLES, BOTH DIRECT AND DERIVED

The variables used in these statistics are the following:

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Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)

Province of death / registration
Municipality of death / registration
Year of registration of the death
Month of registration of the death
Day of registration of the death
Volume of registration of the death in the Civil Register
Page of registration of the death in the Civil Register
Sheet of registration of the death in the Civil Register
First surname of the deceased

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Second surname of the deceased
Given name of the deceased
Year of birth of the deceased
Month of birth of the deceased
Day of birth of the deceased
Sex of the deceased
ID card of the deceased.- National ID, Passport, ID for foreign nationals
Hour of death
Year of death
Month of death
Day of death
Place of death.- Private home, Hospital Centre, Socio-Healthcare Residence, An-
other place
Country of nationality of the deceased
Province of birth of the deceased
Municipality of birth of the deceased
Country of birth of the deceased
Province of residence of the deceased
Municipality of residence of the deceased
Country of residence of the deceased
Type of road of the residence of the deceased
Name of the road of the residence of the deceased
Street number of the road of the residence of the deceased
Staircase number of the residence of the deceased
Floor number of the residence of the deceased
Door (flat number) of the residence of the deceased
Marital status of the deceased
Profession of the deceased
First digit of the code of the cause of death
Second and third digits of the code of the cause of death
Fourth digit of the code of the cause of death
Immediate cause of death
Intermediate cause of death
Initial or essential cause of death
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Other processes
Age in complete years
Age in complete months
Age in complete days
Size of the municipality of registration of the death
Size of the municipality of birth of the deceased
Size of the municipality of residence of the deceased
Reduced cause of death
Cause of perinatal death
Cause of infant death

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4. Characteristics of the statistical process

4.1 Administrative source of the data

The administrative source of the data in the Vital Statistics is the Civil Register.

4.2 Legal basis of the administrative source

Article 20 of the Regulation of the Civil Register Law, states that the Civil Register
Authorities shall submit, to the National Statistics Institute, through their Delega-
tions, the birth, marriage and death registers. This article is pending updates af-
ter the Regulation of the new Law of Civil Register is implemented.

4.3 Observation units to which the primary data of the administrative

source refers
The observation units are the births, marriages and deaths registered in the
books of the Civil Register.

4.4 Collection method for the original administrative data

The data is collected from the corresponding childbirth, marriage and death reg-
isters, published for this same purpose by the National Statistics Institute. These
registers are sent to each Civil Register, where they are completed and returned
to the INE Delegation in the corresponding province.
These registers are recorded in the computers of the provincial delegations of
the INE. There, they carry out the necessary verifications and correct any errors
detected. The Electoral Census is notified of deaths, in order to proceed to delist-
ing the deceased. Each Municipal Council is notified of births and deaths, in or-
der to proceed to delisting the deceased and registering the births. In those prov-
inces in which there is a partnership agreement with the Autonomous Commu-
nity for the compilation of these statistics, the former must send the latter the
recording and documentation established in the signed agreement.
Subsequently, all of the information is transmitted to the Central Services of the
INE, where the data processing continues, carrying out the phases of filtering
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and automatic imputation, until the corresponding publications are obtained.

4.5 Frequency of collecting the original administrative data

The data is collected monthly.

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4.6 Collection method for the data for statistical purposes based on the
original administrative data
The complete listing of the original administrative data is presented, for each
phenomenon, in the following points:

4.6.1 BIRTHS

Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)

Province of registration of birth
Municipality of registration of birth
Day of registration of birth
Month of registration of birth
Year of registration of birth
Volume of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Page of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Sheet of registration of birth in the Civil Register
Day of registration in the Deceased Infants Register of the stillborn infant or live
birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Month of registration in the Deceased Infants Register of the stillborn infant or
live birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Year of registration in the Deceased Infants Register of the stillborn infant or live
birth infant who died in less than 24 hours
Day of the childbirth
Month of the childbirth
Year of the childbirth
Province where the childbirth took place
Municipality where the childbirth took place
Given name of the mother
First surname of the mother
Second surname of the mother
ID card of the mother
INE. National Statistics Institute

Day of birth of the mother

Month of birth of the mother
Year of birth of the mother
Country of nationality of the mother
Province of birth of the mother
Municipality of birth of the mother
Country of birth of the mother
Province of residence of the mother
Municipality of residence of the mother
Country of residence of the mother

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 Type of road of the residence of the mother
Name of the road of the residence of the mother
Street number of the residence of the mother
Floor number of the residence of the mother
Marital status of the mother
Day of the marriage
Month of the marriage
Year of the marriage
Given name of the father
First surname of the father
Second surname of the father
ID card of the father
Day of birth of the father
Month of birth of the father
Year of birth of the father
Country of nationality of the father
Province of birth of the father
Municipality of birth of the father
Country of birth of the father
Province of residence of the father
Municipality of residence of the father
Country of residence of the father
Type of road of the residence of the father
Name of the road of the residence of the father
Street number of the residence of the father
Floor number of the residence of the father
Given name of the newborn
First surname of the newborn
Second surname of the newborn
Sex of the newborn
INE. National Statistics Institute

4.6.2 DEATHS

Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)

Province of death / registration of the death
Municipality of death / registration of the death
Year of registration of the death
Month of registration of the death
Day of registration of the death
Volume of registration of the death in the Civil Register
Page of registration of the death in the Civil Register
Sheet of registration of the death in the Civil Register

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 First surname of the deceased
Second surname of the deceased
Given name of the deceased
ID card of the deceased
Year of birth of the deceased
Month of birth of the deceased
Day of birth of the deceased
Province of birth of the deceased
Municipality of birth of the deceased
Country of birth of the deceased
Marital status of the deceased
Country of nationality of the deceased
Province of residence of the deceased
Municipality of residence of the deceased
Country of residence of the deceased
Type of road of the residence of the deceased
Name of the road of the residence of the deceased
Street number of the road of the residence of the deceased
Floor number of the residence of the deceased
Year of death
Month of death
Day of death

4.6.3 MARRIAGES

Civil Register (Registry of births, marriages and deaths)

Province of celebration / registration of the marriage
Municipality of celebration / registration of the marriage
Year of registration of the marriage
Month of registration of the marriage
Day of registration of the marriage
Volume of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register
INE. National Statistics Institute

Page of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register

Sheet of registration of the marriage in the Civil Register
Year of celebration of the marriage
Month of celebration of the marriage
Day of celebration of the marriage
Type of celebration of the marriage
First surname of spouse 1
Second surname of spouse 1
Given name of spouse 1
Year of birth of spouse 1

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 Month of birth of spouse 1
Day of birth of spouse 1
Sex of spouse 1
Marital status of spouse 1
Country of nationality of spouse 1
ID card of spouse 1
Province of residence of spouse 1
Municipality of residence of spouse 1
Country of residence of spouse 1
Type of road of the residence of spouse 1
Name of the road of the residence of spouse 1
Street number of the residence of spouse 1
Floor number of the residence of spouse 1
First surname of spouse 2
Second surname of spouse 2
Given name of spouse 2
Year of birth of spouse 2
Month of birth of spouse 2
Day of birth of spouse 2
Sex of spouse 2
Marital status of spouse 2
Country of nationality of spouse 2
ID card of spouse 2
Province of residence of spouse 2
Municipality of residence of spouse 2
Country of residence of spouse 2
Type of road of the residence of spouse 2
Name of the road of the residence of spouse 2
Street number of the residence of spouse 2
Floor number of the residence of spouse 2
INE. National Statistics Institute

4.7 Statistical forms

The following statistical registers are used:
- Statistical Register of Childbirth, Births and Late Foetal Deaths: this reflects the
information on all the childbirths registered in the Civil Register, and on their
characteristics, such as multiplicity, mortality, data on the parents, data on the
newborn(s), etc.
- Unified Medical Death Certificate / Statistical Death Register (CMB/BED): this
reflects the information of the deceased persons and their characteristics

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- Judicial Statistical Death Register: this reflects the information on the deaths
occurring in violent or unclear circumstances, requiring judicial intervention.
- Statistical Marriage Register: this includes the information on the marriages
registered in the Civil Register, and their characteristics.
- Ecclesiastical Marriage Register: this is used by the Catholic Church for those
marriages celebrated by this religion. There is a frequent case of marriages cele-
brated by the Catholic religion, for which a statistical register is used because the
parish does not have ecclesiastical registers. Its content is similar to that of the
statistical marriage register.
The statistical childbirth register changed its format and its content in the year
2007. This new register has modified its format to adapt it to the recording tech-
niques by means of optical character recognition. Moreover, changes have been
made in the content therein, for the purpose of being able to analyse the influ-
ence of the characteristics and the socio-demographic changes of the current
population on fertility. New variables were introduced, such as: place of birth of
the mother and the father, moment of acquisition of nationality for the mother
and the father, educational level of the mother and the father, marital status of
the mother and cohabitation situation with common law partners, place of birth
and nationality of the previous child, nationality of the newborns in the current
delivery, information from the autopsy and time of death for those life born in-
fants deceased before 24 hours of life and stillborn infants. There are Castilian
and bilingual versions.
The statistical marriage register changed its content in the month of July 2005,
for the purpose of adapting it to the latest modification in Law 13/2005, of 1 July
(B.O.E. of 2 July 2005), modifying the Civil Code in terms of the right to marry.
Said law allows marriages between persons of the same or different sexes, with
complete and equal rights and responsibilities, irregardless of the composition of
said marriages. The sex variable of each of the spouses was introduced in the
statistical register. There are Castilian and bilingual versions.
The ecclesiastical marriage register has not had changes in its content. There are
Castilian and bilingual versions.
Subsequently, the statistical marriage register changed its format and its content
on 1 January 2008. This new register has modified its format to adapt it to the
INE. National Statistics Institute

recording techniques by means of optical character recognition (OCR). Moreover,

changes were made in the content thereof, including new variables, such as:
educational level of the spouses, ID card numbers (D.N.I., passport, ID for foreign
nationals) of the spouses, acquisition of nationality, etc. Likewise, the terminol-
ogy was adapted, changing the terms husband/wife to spouse1/spouse2.
The statistical death register changed its format and its content in the year 2009.
Likewise, as in the Childbirth and Marriage registers, this has included the neces-
sary transformations in the format of the CMD/BED, in order to adapt the infor-
mation collection to the optical character recognition (OCR), and has changed the
content therein, modifying the way of asking the questions. There are Castilian
and bilingual versions

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5. Dissemination plan and frequency of dis-
semination

The final results describe the characteristics of the childbirths, births, late foetal
deaths, marriages and deaths occurring in Spain throughout a given year. They
are disseminated annually on a national level, and with distribution by Autono-
mous Community, province, capital and municipality.

The final results corresponding to year t are published in December of year t+1,
along with the microdata files from which these results are obtained.
The preview results are broken down by month, and are disseminated every six
months, in June and December each year. The preview results referring to the
first half of the year t are published in December of year t , and those referring to
all the months of the complete year t are published in June of year t + 1 . The
publication of preview results corresponding to all of the months of the complete
year update those already published referring to the first semester thereof.

INE. National Statistics Institute

23
Annex: provisional results of the Vital Statistics

In general, we can state the nature of the calculation methodology itself for the
provisional results of the Vital Statistics has nothing to do with the customary
practices in demographic estimation and projection. This methodology does re-
spond, however, to something much simpler than a true prospective analysis,
since it is based on the simple regularity in the management terms and the proc-
essing of the information on the demographic events occurring, from their
source of origin (Civil Registers) to ascertaining and inclusion in the databases of
the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Thus, the estimation, at a given moment in time, of the total events occurring in
a given month, is carried out from the number of events occurring in said month,
of which until the time of estimation, there is knowledge in the central services of
the INE, and an expansion coefficient thereof that is based on the regularity in
the lag of the arrival of said information from its original source to the INE. That
is, said expansion coefficient replicates the arrival rate of the information from
the previous year in the events that are being received from the current year.
For this purpose, the lag variable is defined as the number of months that an
event occurring in Spain in a given month takes to arrive at the central services
of the INE, from the Civil Register of its province of registration, from the month
nm ,a −1
it of its occurrence. Then, represents the total events (births, deaths or
nr
marriages) occurring in Spain during month m of year a − 1 and m ,a −1 the number
of such events that have been received in the central services of the INE until lag
month r . We then define the expansion coefficient corresponding to month m of
year a for lag r as quotient:

nm,a −1
CE mr ,a =
nmr ,a −1

nr
Then, m ,a ,k represents the total number of events (births, deaths or marriages)
occurring in Spain in month m of year a , in a subpopulation defined by a series
of basic demographic characteristics, indicated as a whole by k , received in the
central services of the INE up until month r . The estimation of the total such
nˆ
events occurring in Spain in month m of year a of type k , m ,a ,k , then yields:

nˆ m,a ,k = CE mr ,a ⋅ nmr ,a ,k
INE. National Statistics Institute

It must be taken into account, that as a result of this estimation process, the fig-
ures of the estimated demographic events generally show decimal numbers.

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