This survey, also known as ENAHO, was first implemented in 1995. From 1997-2002, it was executed under the Program for the Improvement of Surveys and the Measurement of Living Conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean (MECOVI). During these years data was collected quarterly. Detailed data on expenditures was gathered in the 4th quarter, providing information on living conditions and poverty. Beginning in May 2003, the data collection became continuous and 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 fourth quarter of 1999, a sample of the national population was surveyed on topics of household demographics, employment, income, education, social programs, agriculture, expenditures, assets, health, and housing. A community questionnaire was used included in the survey. The sample, based on the 1993 Census, was 4,016 households.