2010 Round of
Population and Housing Censuses
- A Global Review -
Keiko Osaki-Tomita, Ph.D.
Chief, Demographic and Social Statistics Branch
UN Statistics Division
Outline
I.
National implementation of the 2010 census
programme
II. New developments in the current round
III. Challenges faced in conducting censuses
IV. The way forward: Decisions of the 43rd session
of the UN Statistical Commission
2010 World Programme on Population and
Housing Censuses (2005-2014)

Launched by the UN Statistical Commission in 2005

Three essential goals are:
 to agree on international principles and
recommendations to conduct a census
 to urges Member States to carry out a population
and housing census at least once in the period
2005-2014
 to disseminate the census results in a timely
manner
I. Progress in the implementation of 2010
round of censuses

Programme has been a great
success, in terms of country
participation.

Since the start of the 2010
round in 2005, 183 countries or
areas have already carried out a
census, and 46 more have
scheduled by 2014.

Only 6 countries have not yet
scheduled a census during the
current round.
Implementation of Census by Year
•
The peak of the round
was 2011, in terms of
number of censuses
conducted. In 2011
alone, 61 countries had
a census.
• But, the biggest count
of the population was in
2010.
Implementation of Census by Year and Region
II. Innovations in the 2010 Round Censuses

Countries are constantly improving or seeking
to improve the efficiency in how they conduct
a census and collect data through it.

The main innovations in the current round
are:
1) census methods to obtain data
2) use of advanced technologies
1) Census Methods

A large majority of countries in the world are still
conducing a census in a traditional way, i.e. direct
field enumeration through a face-to-face interview
with a paper questionnaire.

The trend is to move away from a single mode and
use additional or mixed modes of data collection.
- paper-based self-enumeration
- self-enumeration through the Internet
- telephone interview
- interview using PDAs, etc.
Mode of enumeration by region
100
90
80
Percentage
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
All
geographic
regions
Africa
Asia
Europe
Face-to-face interview
Internet-based self-enumeration
Other
Latin
Caribbean
America
and the
Caribbean
Latin
America
Northern
America
Oceania
Paper-based self-enumeration
Registers
1) Census Methods
 Many countries are investigating or using alternative
sources of data for compiling key census statistics.
 Use of existing registers and administrative records,
through record-linking, has become increasingly
common, especially in Europe. Will a register-based
census become a feasible alternative to a traditional
census?
 More countries are using continuous or ad-hoc
sample surveys to supplement census data. (ex,
American Community Survey)
2) Use of Modern Technology
A substantial number of countries have adopted advanced
technologies in various phases of the census operation, or
used existing technologies more innovatively to improve the
timeliness and quality of census.
GIS (Geographic Information System) and Global Positioning
System (GPI) are most widely used technologies. GIS for:
- to create cartographic basis for EAs
- to monitor the operation of field enumeration
- to disseminate census results with mapping tools
- Others
2) Use of Modern Technology

For data collection, many countries have used handheld digital devices, such as PDA, tablet computers, the
Internet and CATI. Some countries managed to carry
out a census without any census questionnaires. The
trend of conducting a multi-mode census is likely to
continue.

For data capture, many countries have taken an
advantage of refined scanning technology (OMR, OCR or
ICR), replacing manual data entry.

Census data have been disseminated by a wider variety
of media, including CD-ROM/DVD, static web pages, online databases, and GIS web-based mapping tools.
2) Use of Modern Technology

The use of modern technologies have enabled
countries to release their census results faster
than before. In particular, technologies for data
capture and processing have drastically shorten
the time it takes between data collection and
dissemination.

It is likely that an introduction of such modern
technologies has also improved data quality by
reducing human error in data processing, and
allowing easy internal consistency checks.
III. Challenges Faced in Conducting Censuses
1) Needs for technical expertise
Give rapid advancement of technology, the technical
expertise and tools employed in the previous census tends to
be quickly outdated.
While technological options have been enhanced, countries
are not at the same level of technological development.
Many developing countries have required assistance/intensive
trainings to utilize new technologies, especially in the area of
GIS.
Register-based censuses also requires innovative
technological set-up for record-linking.
III. Challenges Faced in Conducting Censuses
2) Difficulties in reaching respondents
Lifestyle of people is changing rapidly: people have become
more mobile, living alone, better controlled for security,
making it difficult for census enumerators to reach the
intended respondents.
Privacy concerns and the perception of governmental
intrusion in peoples’ personal life by a census have resulted in
declines in response rates.
III. Challenges Faced in Conducting Censuses
3) Rising budget or cost of census
Investments in modern technologies have increased the
census budget significantly as an initial cost, while they may
have led to long-term net savings.
Use of multiple languages and large publicity campaign also
added to the cost.
4) Political and social instability
Still, in the 2010 round, several countries have to cancel or
postponement census dates due to political or civil unrests.
IV. Conclusions
 The 2010 World Population and Housing Census Programme has
been a great success, in terms of country participation.
 The main innovations of the 2010 round of censuses are seen in
the introduction of new census methods and the use of advanced
technologies.
 However, the 2010 round has been also challenged by, among
others, demands for applying advanced technologies, growing
privacy concerns, and rising cost of census operation.
 No “one size fits all” approach for census. Exchanges of
experiences in the 2010 round will help a country to have a
informed choice for the 2020 round of census.
IV. Decisions of the 43rd Session of UN
Statistical Commission
For countries
Called for the analysis of data quality. Especially, reiterated
the importance of PES.
For international communities
Called for cost-benefit analyses of census operations.
Requested a comprehensive assessment of the experiences
and challenges in the 2010 round of censuses by establishing
an Expert Group.
Requested to revise the UN Principles and Recommendations
for Population and Housing Censuses for 2020 World Census
Programme.
Thank You !