A population census is a systematic procedure of acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population. It is a complete snapshot of a nations people, providing information on the size, location, and characteristics of a population. The census is essential to international comparisons of any kind of statistics, and censuses collect data on many attributes of a population, not just how many people there are.
Censuses typically began as the only method of collecting national demographic data and are now part of a larger system of different surveys. A census can be contrasted with sampling, in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population. Modern census data are commonly used for research, business marketing, and planning, and as a baseline for designing sample surveys by providing a sampling frame such as an address register.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts demographic, economic, and geographic studies of other countries and strengthens statistical development around the world. The decennial census is designed to count every resident in the United States and takes place every 10 years. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities. The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation, and helps our communities determine where to build everything from schools to supermarkets, and from homes to hospitals.
Planning, managing, and implementing a population census is an extremely complex endeavor. A well-planned and efficiently managed population census is critical to producing timely and accurate information. The U.S. Census Bureau offers training and technical assistance in all areas of census-taking to help countries achieve the best possible results. Census enumeration is the process of collecting all the required information from respondents. The quality of data collection operations is critical to the overall success and utility of the census.
