Census

B

Modern Censuses

The Canadian census first used the technique of sampling in the 1941 census, gathering additional information on housing from one household in ten. In 1956 it introduced a quinquennial census (a census conducted every five years). Censuses were conducted by personal interview until 1971, when households were asked to fill in their own questionnaires. In the 1996 census, 98 percent of households mailed back their census questionnaire; only 2 percent of households were enumerated by personal interview. In the 1990s, the Canadian census began adjusting its results to correct for people who were missed or counted twice in the census. The adjustment is based on studies conducted after the census that examine samples of households and people and determine if they were counted accurately.

Federal law in Canada requires the government to conduct censuses of population and agriculture every five years. These censuses are conducted in years ending in 1 and years ending in 6. Questions about housing are incorporated into the population census. An annual survey of manufactures collects information on more than 200 different industries in Canada.

VI

Problems in Census Taking

Censuses provide important information about the population of a country. But they can become embroiled in political or social controversy simply by reporting information. Complaints about the census generally involve concerns about the accuracy of the count, the propriety of particular questions, and the uses to which the data are put.

All censuses contain errors of various kinds. Some people and addresses are missed. People may misunderstand a question or fail to answer all the questions. Census officials have developed elaborate procedures to catch and correct errors as the data are collected, but some errors remain. For example, the 1990 U.S. census missed 8.4 million people and mistakenly counted 4.4 million people, according to Census Bureau estimates. The latter figure included people counted more than once, fictitious people listed on forms, and fabrications by enumerators. Such errors undermine the credibility of the census as a mechanism for allocating seats in legislative bodies and government funds.

---

---

In recent years, developments in statistical analysis have made it possible to measure the accuracy of censuses. Census results may be compared with population information from other sources, such as the records of births, deaths, and marriages in vital statistics. Census officials can also determine the level of accuracy of the count by conducting a second, sample count called a post-enumeration survey or post-censal survey. In this technique, census staff knock on the door of each housing unit in selected blocks around the country, regardless of whether the housing unit was on the master address list. The staff member determines whether the household was counted in the census. By comparing the results from this survey with the census records, census officials can estimate how many people from each geographic region were missed in the original census count. Some nations, such as Canada and Australia, have begun to adjust the census results for omissions and other errors.

In the United States, city dwellers, the poor, non-English speakers, and ethnic minorities tend to be undercounted relative to the rest of the population. For example, the 1990 census missed an estimated 4.4 percent of African Americans but missed only 0.9 percent of whites. Beginning with the 1970 census, officials representing undercounted populations have claimed that their constituents have suffered loss of political representation and government funding because the apportionment and funding formulas are based on incorrect data. Mayors and leaders of civil rights organizations filed lawsuits to press for adjustment of census results based on statistical sampling.

In 1999 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that population figures adjusted by sampling may not be used for reapportionment, the determination of how many seats each state receives in the House of Representatives. Reapportionment must use population figures based on the traditional head-count method. However, the Court left open the possibility that states could use the statistically adjusted population figures for redistricting, the redrawing of boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts. The Court’s decision also suggested that federal agencies and policymakers could allocate federal funds to state, local, and tribal governments based on the adjusted figures. For the 2000 census, the Census Bureau planned to produce two sets of population figures: one set of unadjusted data for the purposes of congressional reapportionment, and a second set of data statistically adjusted to correct for the undercount if deemed more accurate. In March 2001 the Census Bureau reported it could not certify the adjusted results as more accurate by the April 1 deadline to provide population figures to the states for redistricting. At the direction of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, the bureau provided states with unadjusted data for redistricting.

Concerns about the confidentiality of the census represent another source of data error. Censuses require public understanding, support, and cooperation to be successful. Concerns about government interference with private life can prevent people from cooperating with what is essentially a voluntary counting process. People may be suspicious of giving information to a government agency or may object that particular census questions invade their privacy. When public trust is lacking, people may not participate. Census agencies in the United States and Canada are required by law to keep individual responses confidential. Nevertheless, individuals living in illegal housing units, undocumented immigrants who do not reside in the country legally, or individuals who do not wish to reveal their economic or social situation to a government agency are often reluctant to respond to a census.

Some people believe that censuses should not be conducted at all because the responses might fall into the wrong hands. During World War II (1939-1945), for example, the German Nazi forces occupying The Netherlands used the country’s census records and population registration data to identify Jews for detention, removal, and extermination. This use ultimately undermined the legitimacy of the census after World War II. In The Netherlands, the legacy of the Nazi era was one of the major justifications to end census taking. The Netherlands took its last regular census in 1971 and now collects population information through other mechanisms.

VII

History

Censuses have been taken since ancient times by emperors and kings trying to assess the size and strength of their realms. These early censuses were conducted sporadically, generally to levy taxes or for military conscription. Clay tablet fragments from ancient Babylon indicate that a census was taken there as early as 3800 bc to estimate forthcoming tax revenues. The ancient Chinese, Hebrews, Egyptians, and Greeks also conducted censuses. However, enumerations did not take place at regular intervals until the Romans began a count of their empire’s inhabitants. Among the Romans the census was usually a count of the male population and assessment of property value. It was used mainly for drafting men into military service and for taxing property.

After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century ad, census taking disappeared for several hundred years. The small feudal communities of the Middle Ages had neither the mechanisms nor the need for censuses. However, in 1086 William the Conqueror ordered the compilation of the census-like Domesday Book, a record of English landowners and their holdings. From the data given in this survey, which was made to determine revenues due to the king, historians have reconstructed the social and economic conditions of the times.

The modern census dates from the 17th century, when European powers wanted to determine the success of their overseas colonies. Thus the British crown and the British Board of Trade ordered repeated counts of the colonial American population in the 17th and 18th centuries, starting in the 1620s in Virginia. The first true census in modern times was taken in New France, France’s North American empire, beginning in 1665. The rise of democratic governments resulted in a new feature of the census process: The 1790 census of the United States was the first to have its results made public. For more information on the history of censuses in the United States and Canada, see the United States Censuses and Canadian Censuses sections of this article.

Sweden began to conduct censuses in the mid-18th century, and England and Wales instituted a regular decennial census in 1801. During the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the practice of census taking spread throughout the world. India conducted its first national census in 1871, under British rule. China’s first modern census, in 1953, counted 583 million people.

The United Nations encourages all countries to conduct censuses. It also promotes adoption of uniform standards and census procedures. The United Nations Statistical Office compiles reports on worldwide population.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain