This survey, also known as ENAHO, was first implemented in 1995. From 1997-2002, data was collected on a quarterly basis. The 4th quarter of the survey was executed under the Program for the Improvement of Surveys and the Measurement of Living Conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean (MECOVI). Expenditure data was gathered to provide information on the living conditions and poverty status. Beginning in May 2003, the data collection became continuous. The sample of the 4th quarter of the 2002 survey was divided into 12 subsamples, each for a month of the year. From 1998, the survey included a panel component.

During the 4th quarter of 1998, a sample of the national population was surveyed on topics of housing, household demographics, employment, education, income, financial transactions, household expenditures, agriculture, health, and social programs. A community questionnaire was also included during this quarter. The sample, based on the 1993 Census, was 8,054 households.