Glossary
Dutch terms as they appear in the CBS documentation, with the English wording used on this site. Terms marked for expert check are still waiting for a Dutch-speaking reviewer.
| Dutch | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Registers and systems | ||
| BRP (Basisregistratie Personen) | Basic Registration of Persons | The national population register. It replaced the GBA in 2014. Variable names still often start with GBA. |
| GBA (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie Persoonsgegevens) | Municipal Personal Records Database | Predecessor of the BRP. Appears as a prefix in many variable names (GBAGESLACHT, GBAGEBOORTELAND, ...). |
| BAG (Basisregistratie Adressen en Gebouwen) | Basic Registration of Addresses and Buildings | Source of the address-object identifiers (RINOBJECTNUMMER). |
| SSB (Stelsel van Sociaal-statistische Bestanden) | System of Social Statistical Datasets | Often called the Social Statistical Database. The linked set of person, household, address and economic files. |
| EBB (Enquête Beroepsbevolking) | Labour Force Survey | Used as a sample source when a register has no information, for example for education. |
| AIH (Adressenregister Institutionele Huishoudens) | Address Register of Institutional Households | |
| CRIHO (Centraal Register Inschrijvingen Hoger Onderwijs) | Central Register of Higher Education Enrolments | |
| DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs) | Education Executive Agency | |
| Belastingdienst | Tax Administration | Main data supplier for the income statistics. |
| Dienst Toeslagen | Benefits Administration | Pays the allowances such as rent benefit (huurtoeslag). |
| BZK (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties) | Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations | |
| Remote Access / On-site | Remote Access / On-site | The two ways to work with CBS microdata: through a secure remote environment, or at a CBS location. Kept in English in the Dutch documents too. |
| RINPERSOON, RINPERSOONS | Pseudonymised person identifier (RIN = Record Identification Number) | RINPERSOON is the number; RINPERSOONS says from which source it was derived. Always use the two together. |
| RINOBJECTNUMMER, SOORTOBJECTNUMMER | Pseudonymised address-object identifier and its origin code | Use the two together as one key. SOORTOBJECTNUMMER codes: B = BAG, H = historical, D = municipal registers, O = unknown origin. |
| A-nummer | A-number | The administrative personal number that RINPERSOON replaces for use inside CBS. |
| People, households and addresses | ||
| ingezetene | resident | A person registered in the population register. |
| nooit-ingezetene | never-resident | Person who has never been registered as a resident. Several variables are imputed for this group. |
| ooit-ingezetene | ever-resident | |
| particulier huishouden | private household | One or more persons sharing a dwelling and providing for their daily needs themselves. |
| institutioneel huishouden | institutional household | Persons housed on a commercial basis, for example in a nursing home or prison. |
| eenpersoonshuishouden | one-person household | |
| eenouderhuishouden | single-parent household | |
| gehuwd paar / niet-gehuwd paar | married couple / unmarried couple | Registered partnerships count as married. |
| thuiswonend kind | child living at home | Any age or marital status. Includes adopted and stepchildren, not foster children. |
| overig lid | other member (of a household) | For example a lodger, two brothers sharing a household, or a foster child. |
| referentiepersoon | reference person | The household member relative to whom the others' positions are defined. |
| hoofdkostwinner | main breadwinner | |
| kernpersoon | core person | In the income files: the main breadwinner who identifies the household. |
| verblijfsobject | dwelling object | A building or part of one with an address. Standplaats = pitch (caravan), ligplaats = mooring (houseboat). |
| briefadres | correspondence address | An address where the registered person does not usually live. |
| peildatum / peilmoment | reference date | |
| verslagjaar | reporting year | |
| gemeente / wijk / buurt | municipality / district / neighbourhood | The three nested regional levels. Codes: GWB code, with the year in the variable name (GemJJJJ, WCJJJJ, BCJJJJ). |
| landsdeel | part of the country | Four regions: North, East, West, South. |
| COROP | COROP region | Statistical regions between municipality and province. |
| stedelijkheid | degree of urbanisation | Five classes from very strongly urban to not urban. |
| Migration and origin | ||
| geboorteland | country of birth | |
| herkomstland | country of origin | Own country of birth if born abroad; otherwise mother's, or father's if the mother was also born in the Netherlands. |
| migratieachtergrond | migration background | From 2022 CBS replaces the old origin classification gradually; see the usage notes of the GBAPERSOONTAB variables. |
| herkomstgroepering | origin grouping | The older term. In publications it should now be called migratieachtergrond. |
| generatie (eerste / tweede generatie) | generation (first / second) | First: born abroad, at least one parent born abroad. Second: born in the Netherlands, at least one parent born abroad. |
| Nederlandse achtergrond / autochtoon | Dutch background | Both parents born in the Netherlands. |
| immigratie / emigratie | immigration / emigration | |
| administratieve opneming / afvoering | administrative addition / removal | A person added to or removed from the register without a reported move. |
| nationaliteit | nationality | staatloos = stateless; polypatride = holder of several nationalities. |
| Wet BRP | BRP Act | Since 6 January 2014 no second nationality is recorded for people with Dutch nationality. |
| Education | ||
| opleidingsniveau | education level | |
| opleidingsrichting | field of study | |
| opleidingsnummer | education number | Identifies a specific course of education. A first digit of 8 means a finer split than the standard SOI numbers. |
| terugvalopleidingsnummer | fallback education number | Starts with 9; its SOI code gives the prior education required to enter the course. |
| hoogst behaald / hoogst gevolgd (HB / HG) | highest attained / highest attended | Suffixes HB and HG in variable names. |
| SOI (Standaard Onderwijsindeling) | Standard Classification of Education | Dutch education classification. Versions SOI 2016 and SOI 2021. |
| ISCED | International Standard Classification of Education | |
| wo / hbo / mbo | university / university of applied sciences / secondary vocational education | |
| Onderwijsnummerbestanden | education number files | |
| ophooggewicht | grossing-up weight | Weight that scales sample observations up to the population. Register records have weight 1. |
| imputatie / bijschatting | imputation / additional estimation | |
| weging | weighting | |
| Income and economy | ||
| inkomen uit arbeid | income from labour | Wages and salaries incl. social-insurance contributions. |
| inkomen uit eigen onderneming | income from own business | The profit made. |
| inkomen uit vermogen | income from wealth | Financial assets, real estate and other assets, minus interest paid. |
| overdrachtsinkomen | transfer income | Benefits and other transfers. |
| uitkering | benefit | |
| bijstand | social assistance | |
| AOW (Algemene Ouderdomswet) | General Old Age Pensions Act (state pension) | Retirement age was 65 up to 2012 and is adjusted yearly from 2013. |
| WW (Werkloosheidswet) | Unemployment Insurance Act | |
| WAO (Wet op de arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering) | Disability Insurance Act | |
| WIA (Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen) | Work and Income according to Labour Capacity Act | |
| ZW (Ziektewet) | Sickness Benefits Act | |
| Wajong | Disability benefit scheme for young disabled persons | needs expert check |
| huurtoeslag | rent benefit (housing allowance) | Called huursubsidie before 2006. |
| kinderbijslag | child benefit | |
| kindgebonden budget | child-related budget | |
| gebonden overdrachten | earmarked transfers | For example rent benefit and the study cost allowance. |
| studiefinanciering | student finance | Persons receiving it are always classified as students in the socio-economic category. |
| tegemoetkoming studiekosten | study cost allowance | |
| bruto / primair / besteedbaar inkomen | gross / primary / disposable income | Household and personal versions differ in what they include; see the notes on BVRBRUTINKH, BVRPRIMINKH and PERSBRUT. |
| gestandaardiseerd inkomen | standardised income | Disposable household income divided by the household's equivalence factor. |
| equivalentiefactor | equivalence factor | |
| lage-inkomensgrens | low-income threshold | Fixed purchasing power, based on the 1979 social assistance level of a single person. |
| beleidsmatig minimum | policy minimum | Social-assistance based norm that depends on household type. |
| zelfstandige / zelfstandig ondernemer | self-employed person / self-employed entrepreneur | |
| directeur-grootaandeelhouder (DGA) | director-major shareholder | |
| meewerkend gezinslid | assisting family member | |
| ondernemersaftrek | entrepreneur's deduction | Made up of zelfstandigenaftrek, speur- en ontwikkelingswerk, meewerkaftrek, stakingsaftrek and (from 2007) startersaftrek bij arbeidsongeschiktheid. |
| MKB-winstvrijstelling | SME profit exemption | MKB = midden- en kleinbedrijf (small and medium-sized enterprises). |
| SBI (Standaard Bedrijfsindeling) | Standard Industrial Classification | Version 2008 is used. |
| sociaaleconomische categorie | socio-economic category | |
| SES-WOA (welvaart, opleidingsniveau, arbeidsverleden) | socio-economic status score (prosperity, education level, employment history) | |
| welvaart | financial prosperity | Based on income and wealth. |
| arbeidsverleden | employment history | |
| Reading conventions | ||
| JJJJ | year placeholder (YYYY) | In a variable name such as GemJJJJ the JJJJ stands for the four-digit year. |
| JJJJMMDD | date format YYYYMMDD | |
| e.v. | onwards (en volgende) | |
| t/m | up to and including (tot en met) | |
| Versiegeschiedenis | version history | |
| Codelijst | code list | |
| Toelichting bij het gebruik | notes on use | |