Definition
A Population census is the total process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data related to a specified time, to all persons in a country or a well defined part of a country.
History of Population Censuses
Population censuses are as old as human history. There are records of census enumerations as early as in 4000 bc in Babylonia, in 3000 bc in China and in 2500 bc in Egypt. The Roman Empire conducted population censuses and one of the most remembered censuses was the one held around ad 1 when Jesus Christ was born as his parents had moved from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the purpose of being counted. However, modern censuses did not start taking place until one was held in Quebec, Canada in 1666. This was followed by one in Sweden in 1749, USA in 1790, UK in 1801 and India 1871.
African Population Censuses
In the absence of complete civil registration systems in Africa, population censuses provide one of the best...
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References and Further Reading
Onsembe JO (2009) Postenumeration surveys in Africa. Paper presented at the 57th ISI session, Durban, South Africa
Onsembe JO, Ntozi JPM (2006) The 2000 round of censuses in Africa: achievements and challenges. Afr Stat J 3, November 6
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Ntozi, J.P.M. (2011). African Population Censuses. In: Lovric, M. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_1
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