A count of the population resident in an area at a given time, together with the collection of social and economic data, made at regular intervals. In many countries census data form the basis for the planning of service provisions, and a census is taken every 10 years. The USA conducted its first national census in 1790, and France and the UK began to collect census data in 1801. The first Chinese census was AD 2, when the population was recorded at 59 594 978. The United Nations has tried to ensure some comparability between the questions asked in different countries, and has been partially successful.
Census data is also commonly used for research, business marketing, and planning purposes.Census and Privacy
While the census provides a useful way of obtaining statistical information about a population, such information can sometimes lead to abuses, political or otherwise, made possible by the linking of individuals' identities to anonymous census data.
It is not unusual for census data to be processed in some way so as to obscure individual information.
Whatever measures have been taken to reduce the privacy risk in census data, new technology in the form of better electronic analysis of data pose increasing challenges to the protection of sensitive individual information.
Ancient and medieval censuses
One of the earliest documented censuses taken was in the year 500-499 BC by the Persian Empire's military for issuing land grants, and taxation purposes.. A later census called by King David of Israel, referred to as the "numbering of the people," incited divine retribution (for being militarily motivated or perhaps displaying lack of faith in God).
The world's oldest extant census data comes from China during the Han Dynasty. The second oldest preserved census is also from the Han, dating back to 140 AD, when only a bit more than 48 million people were recorded.
In the Middle Ages, the most famous census in Europe is the Domesday Book, undertaken in 1086 by William I of England "to find out ... In 1183, a census was taken of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, to ascertain the number of men and amount of money that could possibly be raised against an invasion by Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria.
Modern censuses
Australia
The Australian census is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2006, for the first time, Australians were able to complete their census online.
Brazil
The Brazilian census is carried out by IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, every 10 years.
Bulgaria
The first census was organised after Bulgarian parliament passed a law for national censuses in 1880. The area of the next census was widening for the purposes of International Statistical Institute which was planning a world wide census of the then ‘civilized world’ at the time. • Dwelling statistics – the data is broken down by villages/towns and by type of use – for living and for rent providing purposes • Vital statistics – marriage, number of family members, age at marriage, mortality and nativity
Canada
The Canadian census is run by Statistics Canada. The first census conducted in Canada was conducted in 1666, by French intendant Jean Talon, when he took a census to ascertain the number of people living in New France. In 1871, Canada's first formal census was conducted, which counted the population of Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Quebec.
For the 2006 Census of Canada, respondents were able, for the first time, to choose to complete their census questionnaire online.
See also: Canada 2001 Census, Canada 2006 Census.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica carried out its 9th population census in 2000. INEC, National Institute of Statistics and Census is in charge of conduct these census.
Denmark
The first Danish census was in 1700-1701, and contained statistical information about adult men. A census of school children was taken during the 1730s.
Following these early undertakings, the first census to attempt completely covering all citizens (including women and children who had previously been listed only as numbers) of Denmark-Norway was taken in 1769 . Georg Christian Oeder took a statistical census in 1771 which covered Copenhagen, Sjælland, Møn, and Bornholm.
After that, censuses followed somewhat regularly in 1787, 1801, and 1834, and between 1840 and 1860, the censuses were taken every five years, and then every ten years until 1890. The last census was taken in 1950.
France
Napoleon Bonaparte began the census in France as a means of determining the number of potential soldiers under his rule. Today, the census in France is carried out by INSEE. Since 2004, a partial census is carried out every year, and the results published as averages over 5 years.
Germany
The first large-scale census in the German Empire took place in 1895. Germany has since used population samples in combination with statistical methods, in place of a full census.
Greece
Census takes place every 10 years and is carried out by the National Statistical Service of Greece .
Hong Kong
Census takes place every 10 years and by-census between two censuses by the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong. The last census was conducted in 2001 and the next by-census will take place in 2006.
Iceland
The first Icelandic census took place in 1703, following upon the first Danish census of 1700-1701.
India
The decennial census of India is the primary source of information about the demographic characteristics of the population of India which is the second biggest country of the world in terms of population.
The first census in India in modern times is dated 1872. Starting from there, a population census has been carried out every 10 years, latest being the fourteenth in February - March 2001.
Census is carried out by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Delhi under the Census of India Act, 1948. The act gives Central Government many powers like to notify a date for Census, power to ask for the services of any citizen for census work. The Act provides penalties for giving false answers or not giving answers at all to the census questionnaire. One of the most important provisions of law is the guarantee for the maintenance of secrecy of the information collected at the census of each individual.
Census happens in two phases, first House Listing and House Numbering Operations and second actual population enumeration phase. Census is carried out by the canvassing method.
9 February 2001, the first day of the 2001 census was celebrated as the census day.
Source
Website of the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India Banthia J.K., Ex Registrar General & "Mobilising Support for India’s Census - Constraints and Challenges"Israel
The first census in Israel was held in November 1948, six months after the creation of the state.
Ireland
The census in Ireland is carried out by the Central Statistics Office (Ireland). The census is carried out every five years, except in 2001, whose census was postponed to 2002 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
The census in Ireland is very similar to that of the United Kingdom. That is, the "100 year" law applies here as well, as does the recent addition of a question regarding religion to the 2006 census. However the 1911 Census for the whole of Ireland was made publicly available some time ago.
Since the very first census, the question of "Can you speak Irish?" The 2006 census included how often you spoke the language if you had chosen the "Yes" answer if you spoke Irish.
This census also asked two unique questions relating to ownership of PCs and what Internet connection your home had. The next census will take place in the year 2011.
Web site of the Central Statistics Office IrelandItaly
The census in Italy is carried out by ISTAT every 10 years.
Japan
Japan collects census information every five years.
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Explanation of census form, side 1 |
Explanation of census form, side 2 |
Latvia
The most recent census in Latvia was in 2000. The census in Latvia is carried out by Centrālā Statistikas Pārvalde (Central Statistical Bureau).
Netherlands
The first census in the Netherlands was conducted in 1795, and the last in 1971. A law was produced on April 22, 1879, saying that a census be conducted every ten years.
The census that was supposed to be conducted in 1981 was postponed and later cancelled.
New Zealand
The census in New Zealand is carried out by Statistics New Zealand (Tatauranga Aotearoa), every five years. For the 2006 Census of New Zealand, respondents could choose to complete their census questionnaire online. See New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings.
Norway
The two first male census was conducted during the 1660s and 1701. Norway’s first nominative, complete census was taken in 1801, when Norway still was a province of the kingdom of Denmark-Norway. The census records are made public available when 100 years have passed. Since 1900, the census has been conducted every ten years. (However, the 1940 census was postponed to 1946.) Since 2001 the population census has been combined with the housing statistics.
Poland
The census in Poland is carried out by GUS every circa 10 years.
Portugal
The first census in Portugal was carried out in 1864. The census in Portugal is carried out by INE every 10 years.
Romania
The first census in Romania was carried out in 1859.
Russia/USSR
In Russia, the first (and the only) Russian Empire Census was carried out in 1897. The first post-Soviet Russian Census was carried out in 2002. Currently, the census is the responsibility of the Federal State Statistics Service.
South Africa
The first census of South Africa was taken in 1911.
Spain
The census in Spain is carried out by INE every 10 years. The first modern census was carried out in 1768 by Conde de Aranda, under the reign of Carlos III.
Turkey
The census takes place every 10 years.
Ukraine
The first post-Soviet Ukrainian Census was carried out by State Statistics Committee of Ukraine in 2001, twelve years after the last All-Union census in 1989.
United Kingdom
In the 7th century, Dál Riata (now Scotland) was the first territory in what is now the UK to conduct a census, with what was called the "Tradition of the Men of Alba" (Senchus fer n-Alban). England took its first Census when the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086 for tax purposes.
Following the influence of Malthus and concerns stemming from his An Essay On The Principle Of Population the UK census as we know it today started in 1801. Rickman's 12 reasons - set out in 1798 and repeated in Parliamentary debates - for conducting a UK census included the following justifications:
'the intimate knowledge of any country must form the rational basis of legislation and diplomacy' 'an industrious population is the basic power and resource of any nation, and therefore its size needs to be known' 'the number of men who were required for conscription to the militia in different areas should reflect the area's population' 'there were defence reasons for wanting to know the number of seamen' 'the need to plan the production of corn and thus to know the number of people who had to be fed' 'a census would indicate the Government's intention to promote the public good' and 'the life insurance industry would be stimulated by the results.'The census has been conducted every ten years since 1801 and most recently in 2001.
The 1841 Census, conducted by the General Register Office, was the first to record the names of everyone in a household or institution.
From 1851 onwards the census shows the exact age and relationship to the head of household for each individual; Birthplaces often vary from one census to the next: a common error is to show the place where the census was taken as the birthplace, but most of the variations in birthplace can be accounted for by changes in geographical scale (for example, the nearest town being shown instead of the precise village, or a city being shown instead of the relevant suburb).
Because of World War II, there was no census in 1941. However, following the passage into law (on 5 September 1939) of the National Registration Act a population count was carried out on 29 September 1939, which was, in effect, a census.
The census is undertaken for the government by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for policy and planning purposes, and statistical information is also sold to interested parties. Public access to the census returns is restricted under the terms of the 100-year rule and the most recent returns made available to researchers are those of the 1901 Census.
The 2001 census was the first year in which the government asked about religion. (See Jedi census phenomenon.)
All of the British censuses from 1841-1901 have been transcribed and indexed and are available online;
United States
The United States Constitution mandates that the census be taken at least once every 10 years, and that the number of members of the House of Representatives from each state be determined accordingly. In addition, Census Bureau statistics are used for apportioning Federal funding for many social and economic programs.
The first U.S. Census was taken in 1790 by the local U.S. Marshals. The first census counted 3.9 million people, less than half the population of New York City in 2000. The 2000 census counted over 281 million people.
In 1902, a Public Law established the Census Bureau as a permanent Federal agency. Computer algorithms (based on complex sampling rules) determined which form was mailed to a given household (in practice, of those households whose locations are on the Census Master Address List), one in six receiving the long form. This was supplemented by census workers going door-to-door to talk to people who failed to return the forms. In addition to a simple count of residents, the Census Bureau collects a variety of statistics, on topics ranging from ethnicity to the presence of indoor plumbing. While some critics claim that census questions are an invasion of privacy, the data collected by every question is either required to enforce some federal law (such as the Voting Rights Act) or is required to administer some federal program.
Despite a massive effort, the Census Bureau has never been able to count every individual, leading to controversy about whether to use statistical methods to supplement the numbers for some purposes, as well as arguments over how to improve the actual head count. In several cases, the Census Bureau will recount an area with disputed figures, provided the local government pays for the time and effort. The State of Utah protested the figures of the 2000 decennial census because it stood to gain a seat in the House of Representatives, but North Carolina gained it instead. Had the Census Bureau been able to count the numbers of Utahns living overseas, including many Mormon missionaries, Utah would have gained the seat.
To minimize the burden on individuals and to provide improved data, the Bureau is preparing several alternative methods for gathering economic, demographic, and social information, including the American Community Survey and record linking of depersonalized administrative records with other administrative records and Census Bureau surveys. 915, Public Law 95-416, enacted on October 5, 1978), census records are sealed for 72 years. Thus, the most recent Census released to the public was the 1930 Census, released in 2002.
Indexes to some of the U.S. Censuses have been produced over the years, making the process of searching old census records much easier. Some indexes of census records have been produced by amateur volunteer genealogists. The original census records from this era were completed by hand by census enumerators; The chief motivation in producing the Soundex name indexes was to assist citizens in finding census records to provide evidence of age, especially for those born before the advent of governmentally-approved birth certificates. These are accompanied with hypertext links that take the researcher directly to an image of the original census page, without having to travel to a regional library and scroll through endless rolls of microfilm. Still, census information often provides useful information for genealogists and clues on where to proceed to find further primary source documents.
Local
In additional to the decennial federal census, more localized versions are often used. An example of this is Massachusetts, which takes a statewide census every fifth year. Likewise, each community in Massachusetts takes a municipal census each year.
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