# In BPLD, what do "ns" and "nec" mean?

**URL:** <https://forum.ipums.org/t/in-bpld-what-do-ns-and-nec-mean/4234>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [July 14, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/in-bpld-what-do-ns-and-nec-mean/4234 "2021-07-14T16:02:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Martha\_Lagace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4da419/32.png) [@Martha\_Lagace](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Martha_Lagace)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/in-bpld-what-do-ns-and-nec-mean/4234/1 "2021-07-14T16:02:34Z")

</div>

Example 1: 29900 Americas, ns  
Example 2: 60099 Africa, ns&nec

What do these mean, please?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ivan\_Strahof](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/ivan_strahof/32/626_2.png) [@Ivan\_Strahof](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Ivan_Strahof)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/in-bpld-what-do-ns-and-nec-mean/4234/2 "2021-07-15T16:09:03Z")

</div>

n.s. stands for “not specified” and refers to cases where more precise information about the place of birth is not available. In your first example, “Americas, ns”, refers to instances when the place of birth was indicated as being in “America” or the “Americas” without any further specification. n.e.c. stands for “not elsewhere classified” and includes all responses for which there is no specific code for the given geography.

Hope that helps!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Martha\_Lagace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4da419/32.png) [@Martha\_Lagace](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Martha_Lagace)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/in-bpld-what-do-ns-and-nec-mean/4234/3 "2021-07-15T16:20:14Z")

</div>

Thank you very much!