Statistics Explained

Glossary:Room

A room is defined as a space in a housing unit, or in living quarters other than housing units, enclosed by walls reaching from the floor to the ceiling or roof covering, or at least to a height of 2 metres above the ground, of a size large enough to hold a bed for an adult (4 square metres at least) and at least 2 metres high over the major area of the ceiling.

Thus, normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, habitable cellars and attics, servants' rooms, kitchens and other separate spaces used or intended for habitation all count as rooms. Passageways, verandas, lobbies, bathrooms, and toilet rooms should not be counted as rooms, even if they meet the criteria (United Nations, 2008).

Further information

  • Dwellings (ESMS metadata file — cens_01ndws)

Related concepts

Statistical data