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2019 World Population Data

Wolves, Water, and War

The Importance of the Census Throughout History

What Is a Census?

The English word census is derived from the Latin censere, meaning “estimate.” Typically, a population census is conducted by a governmental authority, and the United Nations describes it as the largest peacetime mobilization a country can undertake. Belgian scientist Adolphe Quetelet is credited with establishing the first international standards for enumeration methodology in the 1840s, though national differences remain in how censuses are conducted.

The earliest censuses did not include entire populations but primarily counted adult men for taxation or draft purposes. Later, European countries used censuses to keep track and control of their colonies. The United States bases its system of government and federal budgeting process on information collected in the constitutionally mandated decennial census.

Inform

Public- and private-sector decisionmakers throughout the world use census data to inform decisions, carry out policies, and implement priorities.

The Roman Empire’s census was among the most sophisticated of its era (27 BCE-286 CE). It provided a way to levy taxes on citizens and conscript soldiers to support the needs of the far-flung empire which, at its peak, included most of Europe and large sections of Asia and Africa.

When the People’s Republic of China’s 1990 census showed population continuing to grow faster than expected, the government introduced even tougher penalties for violations of its 1979 one-child policy. China eventually relaxed and then abandoned the policy in 2016.

Online merchants like Amazon compile data from multiple sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, to drive sales through product recommendations based on the buying habits of people with similar profiles.

After two major cyclones struck Mozambique in 2019, data gathered in its 2017 census were used to assess impacted areas and inform disaster relief efforts.

Empower

By being counted, every individual has agency on a variety of important decisions, such as political representation and the allocation of public funds.

In 1787, the U.S. Constitution established the decennial census as the basis for proportional representation in Congress. Census data are used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives and define the boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts.

India uses data from its 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census to better identify and allocate resources for people in need of assistance from social programs.

The United Kingdom’s 2001 census included a question on religious affiliation for the first time since 1851, with members of marginalized religious groups gaining a greater voice and representation in national policymaking as a result.

U.S. decennial census data help guide more than $675 billion in annual federal spending used to build highways; repair infrastructure; provide school lunches for disadvantaged children; and support programs for the poor, elderly, and those with special needs. Census undercounts can cause states to lose critical federal funding.

Advance

Throughout history, census data have been used to identify and address challenges in order to improve the well-being of people around the world.

Florence Nightingale used census data to prove that poor sanitation killed more British soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856) than died in battle. And in 1866, William Farr, London’s statistical superintendent, used census data to advance Dr. John Snow’s 1854 theory that cholera was spread through contaminated water.

With data from its 1960 census, South Korea instituted population planning that helped it recover from the Korean War (1950-1953), generating an annual GDP of 6.7 percent over the following decade.

By using tablet technology to gather data in their 2018 census, Malawi was able to deliver preliminary results within three months of enumeration, reporting a 35 percent population increase since the previous census in 2008.

Census data will be used to measure progress on a number of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The number of countries conducting at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years will be an official indicator of progress toward supporting statistical capacity building in developing countries.

Challenges

Obtaining an accurate count of the full population is vital, but also complicated and expensive, and can be challenging for a variety of reasons.

Conflict has frequently impeded census taking. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) halted Russia’s 1811 census, while World War I (1914-1918) interrupted what would have been the first comprehensive population data collection in British-controlled East Africa. In 2019, Ethiopia’s national census, originally due to take place in 2017, was postponed for a third time because of security concerns.

Census taking can be dangerous. Enumerators in Siberia’s remote Yamal Peninsula carried guns to fend off packs of wolves in 1926, and officials overseeing the Soviet Union’s 1937 census were executed or sent to labor camps when their data did not support leader Joseph Stalin’s claims that the population was growing due to collectivization policies.

People have resisted taking part in a census for a variety of cultural, political, and religious reasons, fearing how the information might be used. U.S. officials used census data to identify and imprison Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.

In the 2010 U.S. Census, children under age 5 were more likely to be missed than any other age group. Racial/ethnic minorities and those living in linguistically isolated households or with grandparents, nonrelatives, or in group settings were most at risk.

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