The main objectives of the CES Recommendations for the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses are: ( i) to provide guidance and assistance to countries in the planning and conducting of their population and housing census; ( ii) to facilitate and improve the comparability of the data at regional level through the selection of a core set of census topics1 and the harmonization of definitions and classifications.

The first part of the publication (Part One) presents two chapters on census methodology and technology. The objective is not to recommend a specific method or a technology, but rather to present the different approaches with their advantages and disadvantages and guide countries to make the best choice that fits their national circumstances. These chapters are complemented by additional material presented in various appendices.  The second and third parts of the publication present respectively population topics (Part Two) and housing topics (Part Three). The Recommendations aim to describe the different census topics that are relevant for the region presenting not only definitions and standards but also analyzing their relevance and their comparative advantage in relation to other census topics and other data collection activities outside the census. The topics are presented using a structure by theme (demographic, migration, ethno-cultural characteristics, etc.) to facilitate a broader view in the description of the content of a census.

Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2010 Censuses of Population and Housing (United Nations publication, ECE/CES/STAT/NONE/2006/4), New York and Geneva, 2006

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