Compter les absents : estimer indirectement une diaspora insulaire

The objective of this paper is to assess the degree of reliability of estimating the diaspora of an insular diaspora using information on the place of residence of the related absentees (parents, siblings, and children) of respondents. This study is conducted using data from the first French Polynesia Family Survey (Feti’i e fenua, ISPF-Ined, 2020). These estimates depend on the calculation of the weights of each statement: the same individual can be cited by several members of the family interviewed in the Feti’i e fenua survey. Using and adapting the Generalized Weight Sharing Method (GWSM) proposed by Deville and Lavallée (2006), we initially conduct a series of estimates of the Polynesian diaspora in France. Then, relying on the 2019 French census data (mainland France) which allow to identify the Polynesian population living in  Metropolitan France, it is then possible to compare the estimates obtained via the GWSM and discuss the nature of the observed biases. A simultaneous calibration (Caron and Sautory, 2004) calculated on the respondents in Polynesia and the Polynesian residents in Metropolitan France is finally adopted to improve the weighting of the survey