De Facto Populations and Populations Impacted by Disasters

Abstract

This chapter deals with three separate estimation topics related by the fact that they are not readily accessible from census data, which in the US and the other countries to which this book is addressed (e.g., Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and the United States) is based on the concept of a De Jure population. The first issue is that of a de Facto population, which is the concept of people enumerated, estimated, or forecasted where they are found rather than where they usually reside. The second is that of the homeless population and the third, a population impacted by a disaster. For both the homeless and those impacted by a disaster, the underlying concept is that of a De Jure population, but in the case of both, the methods for estimating De Jure populations are rendered virtually useless (Rummel, 1991; Smith and McCarty, 1996; Swanson, 2008; US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2008). This situation calls into play at least some of the methods for estimating De Facto populations, hence the reason for covering both in this chapter. In addition, having estimates of the De Facto population can play an important role in the plans for coping with disasters.