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1. Stakeholders
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3. New technologies
4. Intercensal activities
5. Census mapping
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Symposium 2001/Final
31 May 2002

Global Review of 2000 Round of Population and Housing Censuses: Mid-decade Assessment and Future Prospects

Census takers, statisticians and researchers met in New York from 7 to 10 August 2001 at the invitation of the United Nations Statistics Division to share their achievements and problems and to consider plans for future census operations. This United Nations Symposium addressed the question: “When and under what circumstances do censuses succeed?” Over 100 experts, including some 55 heads of population and housing census programmes responsible for counting approximately three fourths of the world’s population, participated in this meeting. The discussions among participants identified issues and problems that emerged in the current census round (1995-2004) and sought solutions that may serve to guide census planning during the next round (2005-2014). Participants shared national strategies that contributed to the success of censuses with respect to relevance, cost, coverage, timeliness and accuracy.

Are there really more than 6.1 billion people in the world? If so, how do we know? How do we know that the count and descriptions of people through population censuses are correct? Undertaking a population census is one of the most complex and challenging jobs for any government statistics office. Everyone must be counted, no matter how remote the location and how difficult the task. The whole population must feel that it has a stake in the success of the census as a tool for planning the future of their country, so that they participate fully in the process. Topics at the Symposium ranged widely, from considerations of the timing of a census and such difficult-to-enumerate groups as nomads and refugees to ways in which countries can work together to share resources and expertise. Six major areas were identified as critical to the success of population and housing censuses.

1. Strategies for involving stakeholders in census activities

2. Strategies for choosing among data-collection methods as sources of demographic and social statistics: censuses, sample surveys and administrative records

3. Adapting new technologies to census operations

4. Maintaining census-related activities during the intercensal years

5. Identifying and resolving problems of census mapping

6. Post-Enumeration Surveys: Are they worth it or not?

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