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Census
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{{distinguish|Censer|Census (feudal tax){{!}}Censive|Censor (disambiguation){{!}}Censor|Censure|Senser|Sensor}} {{short description|Acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population}} [[File:Volkstelling 1925 Census.jpg|thumb|A census taker visits a family of Indigenous [[Dutch Travellers]] living in a [[mobile home|caravan]] in the [[Netherlands]] in 1925.]] A '''census''' (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given [[Statistical population|population]], usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used mostly in connection with [[Population and housing censuses by country|national population and housing censuses]]; other common censuses include [[Census of agriculture|censuses of agriculture]], traditional culture, business, supplies, and traffic censuses. The [[United Nations]] (UN) defines the essential features of population and housing censuses as "individual enumeration, universality within a defined territory, simultaneity and defined periodicity", and recommends that population censuses be taken at least every ten years. UN recommendations also cover census topics to be collected, official definitions, classifications, and other useful information to coordinate international practices.<ref>United Nations (2008). [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/docs/P&R_Rev2.pdf Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514112357/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/docs/P%26R_Rev2.pdf |date=2011-05-14 }}. Statistical Papers: Series M No. 67/Rev. 2. p. 8. {{ISBN|978-92-1-161505-0}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/CES_2010_Census_Recommendations_English.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027034936/http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/CES_2010_Census_Recommendations_English.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-27 |url-status=live |title=CES 2010 Census Recommendations |website=Unece.org |access-date=2013-11-19}}</ref> The [[United Nations|UN]]'s [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO), in turn, defines the census of agriculture as "a statistical operation for collecting, processing and disseminating data on the structure of agriculture, covering the whole or a significant part of a country." "In a census of agriculture, data are collected at the holding level."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/506491e2-2ed4-4a7d-8104-6358d0e40adc|title=World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 Volume 1: Programme, concepts and definitions|publisher=FAO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-5-108865-4|series=FAO statistical development series No. 15|location=Rome|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2020-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110154327/http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/506491e2-2ed4-4a7d-8104-6358d0e40adc|url-status=live}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191124095033/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ |date=2019-11-24 }} license.</ref> The word is of [[Latin]] origin: during the [[Roman Republic]], the census was a list of all adult males fit for military service. The modern census is essential to [[international comparisons]] of any type of statistics, and censuses collect data on many attributes of a population, not just the number of individuals. Censuses typically began as the only method of collecting national [[Demography|demographic]] data and are now part of a larger system of different surveys. Although population estimates remain an important function of a census, including exactly the geographic distribution of the population or the agricultural population, statistics can be produced about combinations of attributes, e.g., education by age and sex in different regions. Current [[administrative data]] systems allow for other approaches to enumeration with the same level of detail but raise concerns about privacy and the possibility of biasing estimates.<ref name="theforgottenfamily.wordpress.org">{{cite web |url=https://theforgottenfamily.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/history-and-development-of-the-census-in-england-and-wales/ |title=History and Development of the Census in England and Wales |website=theforgottenfamily.wordpress.org |date=2017-01-19 |access-date=2017-01-20 |archive-date=2017-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202022221/https://theforgottenfamily.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/history-and-development-of-the-census-in-england-and-wales/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A census can be contrasted with [[sampling (statistics)|sampling]] in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population; typically, main population estimates are updated by such [[intercensal estimate]]s. 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. Census counts are necessary to adjust samples to be representative of a population by weighting them as is common in [[opinion poll]]ing. Similarly, [[stratified sampling|stratification]] requires knowledge of the relative sizes of different population strata, which can be derived from census enumerations. In some countries, the census provides the official counts used to apportion the number of elected representatives to regions (sometimes controversially β e.g., ''[[Utah v. Evans]]''). In many cases, a carefully chosen random sample can provide more accurate information than attempts to get a population census.<ref>Salant, Priscilla, and Don A. Dillman. "How to Conduct your Survey: Leading professional give you proven techniques for getting reliable results." (1995)</ref> [[File:Lastcensus.svg|thumb|300px|A world map showing countries' most recent censuses as of 2020]]
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