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Concepts and definitions

Age

Age refers to a person's age in whole years as at 31 December. The data are obtained from the Population Information System.

Age is also used as an auxiliary variable. For example, only people between 15 and 74 can be in the labour force.

Average size of dwelling

The average size of dwellings is obtained by dividing the total floor area of dwellings by their number.

Building

A building refers to any independent structure permanently constructed or erected on its site. It has its own entrance and contains covered space intended for different purposes, usually enclosed within outer walls or walls separating it from other structures (buildings).

Caves and other subterranean spaces which are mainly enclosed within rock or similar walls and/or which do not contain structures comparable to the interior structures of buildings proper, for example underground oil tanks, are not buildings.

Stalls, kiosks, etc. that do not contain space separated by closed walls, and transportable caravans, ships, etc. are not classified as buildings.

The building stock statistics do not include:

• free-time residences
• buildings intended for storing liquids
• buildings used only in agricultural production
• sauna buildings belonging to residential buildings
• outhouses of residential buildings
• buildings entirely controlled by foreign missions
• buildings of the Armed Forces
• air raid shelters

except in cases where such buildings are occupied or contain business premises.

The data on buildings come from the Population Information System of the Population Register Centre.

Building material

The building material refers to the material from which the vertical supporting structures of the building are mainly made. The classification is as follows:

• concrete, light concrete
• brick
• steel
• wood
• other, unknown.

Consumption unit

Income and consumption expenditure calculated per consumption unit can be used to compare households of different sizes and structures with each other. There are several different ways of calculating consumption units. From 2002, the income distribution statistics and the Household Budget Survey have used the OECD's adjusted consumption unit scale recommended by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, where

• the first adult of the household receives the weight 1
• other over 13-year-olds receive the weight 0.5
• children receive the weight 0.3 (0 to 13-year-olds).

The selected consumption unit scale has a significant effect on income levels and on placement of different population groups in the income distribution.

Consumption unit (OECD)

The size of the consumption unit represented by the household-dwelling unit is indicated as the sum of the weights of its members. In accordance with international recommendations the value of each member of a household-dwelling unit is determined as follows:

• first adult aged 18 and over = 1.0
• subsequent adults aged 18 and over = 0.7
• each person aged under 18 = 0.5.

If all persons in the household-dwelling unit are aged under 18, the weight of the first member is 1.0 and that of subsequent members 0.5.

Dwelling

A dwelling refers to a room or a suite of rooms which is intended for year-round habitation; is furnished with a kitchen, kitchenette or cooking area; and has a floor area of at least 7 square metres. Every dwelling must have its own entrance. A single-family house may be entered through an enclosed porch or veranda. If a dwelling is entered through the premises of another dwelling, it is not regarded as a separate dwelling but instead those two constitute one dwelling.

Dwelling population

The dwelling population comprises those persons who according to the Population Information System of the Population Register Centre resided permanently in dwellings on 31 December. Persons permanently institutionalised, living in residential homes and abroad and homeless people are not included in the dwelling population. Likewise, persons living in buildings classified as residential homes whose living quarters do not meet the definition of dwelling, are not included.

The basic family population differs from the dwelling population in that it also includes those living in residential homes.

Facilities

Data on the facilities of dwellings and buildings are derived from the dwelling and building data of the Population Information System of the Population Register Centre.

Facilities in a dwelling:

• sewage
• running water
• toilet
• hot water
• washing facilities (shower, bathroom or sauna)
• sauna in the dwelling
• central or electric heating.

The data on dwelling facilities have been used in determining the standard of equipment of the dwelling.

Facilities in a building:

• electricity
• sewage
• running water
• hot water
• lift
• sauna in the building
• swimming pool
• mechanical ventilation
• air raid shelter.

Floor area

The floor area of a dwelling is measured from the inner surfaces of its walls. The figure includes the floor areas of the utility room, walk-in cupboard, bathroom, hobby room, sauna, washroom and dressing room, as well as the floor areas of rooms used for working unless used by hired employees.

The following are not counted in the dwelling's floor area: garage, cellar, sauna facilities in an unfurnished basement, unheated storage space, balcony, porch, veranda and attic space unless used as a living space.

The floor area of a freetime residence refers to its gross floor area.

Heating fuel/ source of heat

Heating fuel or source of heat refers to the main fuel or energy source used in heating a building. There are also data on the heating fuel of dwellings. Data on the heating fuel have been obtained from the Population Information System, which receives them from municipal building supervision authorities.

Information about change in heating fuel is mainly transmitted to the Population Information System only if such alterations have been done to a building which require a building permit.

The classification is as follows:

• district heating
• oil
• gas
• coal
• electricity
• wood
• peat
• ground heating
• other, unknown

Heating system

Heating system refers to the main method of heating used in the heating of a building. There are also data on the heating fuel of dwellings. Data on the heating fuel have been obtained from the Population Information System, which receives them from municipal building supervision authorities by way of building project notices. Information about change in the heating system is only transmitted to the Population Information System if such alterations have been done to a building which require a building permit.

The classification is as follows:

• central heating, water
• central heating, air
• direct electric heating
• stove heating
• no fixed heating installation
• unknown.

In a water central heating system, the building is heated with circulating water, and in an air central heating system with circulating air. In direct electric heating the building is heated with the aid of a fixed radiator, etc. connected directly to the electricity network.

In stove heating, heating takes place by burning wood or other fuels in a fireplace (stove) that stores heat. Stove heating also includes electric heating reservoirs, separate fixed oil heaters and heatpreserving fireplaces. Stoves used for heating saunas are not regarded as heating equipment.

Household-dwelling unit

A household-dwelling unit consists of the permanent occupants of a dwelling. Persons who according to the Population Information System of the Population Register Centre are institutionalised, or are homeless, or are abroad, or are registered as unknown, do not constitute household-dwelling units. Additionally, persons living in buildings classified as residential homes do not form household-dwelling units if their living quarters do not meet the definition of a dwelling. In the 1980 census household-dwelling units were also formed of these persons.

The concept of household-dwelling unit was adopted in the 1980 census. In earlier years the concept of household was used. A household consisted of family members and other persons living together who made common provision for food. A subtenant providing for his or her own food constituted a separate household. Since 1980 subtenants have been classified in the same household-dwelling units with other occupants.

Income subject to state taxation

The information is based on data in the tax files of the National Board of Inland Revenue concerning income subject to state taxation.

Average income refers to income calculated per income earner. Median income generally provides a better picture of the income level within a certain group. Median income indicates the amount of income that divides income earners into two groups of equal size. One half of the income earners have lower, and one half higher, incomes than the median.

Net income means income obtained by subtracting taxes from income subject to state taxation (income tax, wealth tax, punitive tax increase, municipal tax, church tax, social security contributions and forestry levies).

Income subject to state taxation is divided into the following categories according to source:

1. Wage income:

wages and salaries subject to preliminary collection of taxes, wages and salaries from work at sea, reimbursements of expenses by employer, holiday pay in building and construction, wages and salaries to reservists, income from abroad taxed in Finland, value of purchased services in forestry, value of purchased services in partnerships, redemptions, service charges and other income subject to advance payment of taxes

2. Entrepreneurial income:

earned income and capital income in agriculture and forestry, earned income and capital income in trade and business, income from partnerships

3. Other income subject to state taxation:

other earned income, pension income, unemployment benefits and other social security benefits.

A person's earned income consists of his or her entrepreneurial income and wage and salary earnings. Income subject to state taxation does not include scholarships and grants received from public corporations for studies or research, earned income from abroad if the person has worked abroad for at least six months, part of the social security benefits received from the public sector and tax-exempt interest income.

Statistics Finland's annual publication "Statistics on income and property" contains descriptions of the different types of income.

Kitchen

A kitchen is a room furnished for cooking. A space furnished for cooking measuring less than 7 square metres is a kitchenette or cooking area.

Locality

An urban settlement is a cluster of dwellings with at least 200 inhabitants. The delimitation is based on the population information of the previous year. Urban settlements are defined and delimited in co-operation with the Finnish Environment Institute using geographic information methods that utilise the building and population data of Statistics Finland's 250 m x 250 m grid data. The population size of grids containing buildings and their neighbouring grids, as well as the number of buildings and their floor area, are reviewed in the definition. From the uniform clusters of dwellings generated in the defining stage, the ones with at least 200 inhabitants are selected.

Network connection

The following network connections are identified for a building:

• sewage
• running water
• electricity
• natural gas.

Number of storeys

The number of storeys in a building consists of all storeys that are primarily above ground level and in which there are habitable rooms or office space or other space conforming to the intended use of the building. If the number of storeys varies in different parts of the building, the number usually refers to the largest number of storeys in the building.

For buildings completed after 1980, the number of storeys is expressed as an average number that takes into account the whole building if the share of the gross floor area of a certain storey out of the gross floor area of the main storeys is very small. For instance, if a large industrial unit is mainly a one-storey building, but office space is located on three storeys, then the number of storeys is given as one.

Overcrowding

According to the norms below, a dwelling is over-crowded if it has

• Norm 1: more than two persons per room, with kitchen included in the number of rooms
• Norm 2: more than two persons per room, with kitchen excluded from the number of rooms
• Norm 3: more than one person per room, with kitchen included in the number of rooms
• Norm 4: more than one person per room, with kitchen excluded from the number of rooms.

The norms applied in the statistics have changed over the decades. Norms 1 and 2 were used in the 1970 and 1975 population censuses. Data based on norm 3 have been produced since 1980. Norm 4 was first introduced in the 1990 census. Norm 4 has also been used in the level of housing classification since the 1990 census. Prior to that norm 3 was used.

Room and number of rooms

A room is a space with one or more windows that has a floor area of at least 7 square metres and an average height of at least 2 metres. A hall, porch, bed recess, etc. are not counted as rooms. Kitchen is not normally counted in the number of rooms.

Stage in life

The classification of stages in life is used to distinguish between the stages of a household-dwelling unit, which usually differ in terms of income and consumption. The classification is based on type of household-dwelling unit, age of reference person and age of children.

The household-dwelling unit's stage in life is described by the age of the reference person in cases where the household-dwelling unit does not comprise a family (single-person households, non-family households comprising at least two persons) or where the family consists of a married or cohabiting couple without children. The stage in life of a family with children is determined by the age of the children belonging to the household-dwelling unit. Since 1993 families consisting of a cohabiting couple with children have been classified separately from families consisting of a married couple with children.

Standard of equipment

As from 2005, only two categories are used to describe the standard of equipment:

• High standard of equipment: the dwelling has running water, sewage, hot water, toilet, washing facilities (shower/bathroom or sauna) and central or electric heating
• Other or unknown level of equipment.

In the previous years, three categories have been used to describe the standard of equipment in a dwelling:

• High standard of equipment: the dwelling has running water, sewage, hot water, toilet, washing facilities (shower/bathroom or sauna) and central or electric heating
• low standard of equipment: the dwelling only lacks washing facilities and/or central heating (or electric heating)
• substandard of equipment: the dwelling lacks one of the following facilities: running water, sewage, hot water or toilet.

Structure of household-dwelling unit

Household-dwelling units are divided according to their structure into two categories:

Family household-dwelling units comprise:

• 1 family, no other persons
• 1 family and other persons
• at least 2 families, no other persons
• at least 2 families and possibly other persons.

Other household-dwelling units comprise:

• 1 person
• 2 persons, both of the same sex
• 2 persons, male and female
• at least 3 persons, all of the same sex
• at least 3 persons, male and female.

Sub-area (of municipality)

Municipal sub-areas are formed of operationally functional wholes defined by the municipality itself, which are the basis of the municipality's regional planning and monitoring. Statistics Finland is responsible for digitising new sub-area boundaries and for maintaining name files. Municipalities have the opportunity to check their sub-area division once a year.

The division into sub-areas is a hierarchical three-level classification which has a 1-digit major area level, a 2-digit statistical area level and a 3-digit small area level. Sub-areas are numbered consecutively using these three hierarchical levels. The 6-digit sub-area code is bound to the 3-digit municipality code, so the sub-area code consists of a total of nine characters.

Tenure status

Dwellings are classified according to tenure status as follows:

Owner-occupied dwelling

• occupant of the dwelling owns the house
• occupant of the dwelling owns shares in housing corporation

Rented dwelling

• rented dwelling subsidised by the State
• rented dwelling with interest support loan
• other rented dwelling

Right of occupancy dwelling

Other tenure status

• e.g. life annuity, kinship

Tenure status unknown

In the dwelling stock statistics the tenure status is mainly defined for permanently occupied dwellings.

Type of building

Residential buildings are classified according to type of building as follows:

• Detached houses: residential buildings containing 1 to 2 dwellings, including semi-detached houses and other comparable detached residential buildings (e.g. permanently occupied free-time residences)
• Terraced houses: residential buildings with at least three adjoining dwellings
• Blocks of flats: residential buildings of at least three dwellings in which at least two dwellings are located on top of each other and which do not belong to the previous categories
• Other buildings: also includes buildings whose type is unknown.

Year of construction

The year of construction refers to the year in which the building was completed and was ready for use. If the building was completed prior to 1980, the year of renovation may have been entered as the year of construction.