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The term Census refers to any
count/enumeration of items that are important to a country, such as
housing, agriculture or manufacturing, taken at a particular time.
Used on its own, however, it usually refers to a census of
population. A Census of Populat on is a count of people and
housing in a country or area at a particular time. Its purpose is to
provide a statistical portrait of the country and its population. Almost
every country in the world regularly carries out a census to collect
important information about the social and economic situation of the
people living in its various regions.
A census is the only reliable source of detailed data on
small areas or groups within the population.
Censuses, which are in general
expensive, extremely labour intensive and time consuming, are
taken only at infrequent but usually regular intervals; every ten
years in many countries, every 5 years or at irregular intervals in
other countries.
In non-census years the population is
estimated with the aid of vital statistics if these are sufficiently
reliable. For instance, the population in a post-censal year equals
the population at the last census plus the births, minus the deaths,
plus or minus the net migration during the intervening years.
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