Demographic and Social Statistics

United Nations Global Consultation for the Revision of the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) has initiated a global consultation process to revise the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses (P&R). This reference publication provides guidance to national statistical authorities in planning, conducting, and utilizing population and housing censuses. As we prepare for the 2030 round of censuses, the current version of the publication will be updated to reflect best practices and contemporary approaches.

The revision of the P&R is being conducted under the aegis of an Expert Group established for this purpose. Seven Task Teams within the Expert Group have conducted two rounds of revisions (June-December 2023 and January-May 2024). The outcomes of two Expert Group meetings (in May 2023 and December 2023) have guided the task teams in their work.

The global consultation seeks feedback from the wider statistical community and census experts on both the content and structure of the publication. We invite participation from national statistical offices worldwide and organizations supporting census planning and conduct.

Feedback from the global consultation will ensure relevant guidance for planning and conducting 2030 round censuses and international comparability of census outputs. The final draft of the Principles and Recommendations will be submitted to the Statistical Commission in 2025 for endorsement.

Access the draft P&R publication here: https://shorturl.at/Eddsc

All census experts are invited to participate in the global consultation and provide feedback on the draft P&R content and structure, including topics, concepts, classifications, methodology, quality, planning, and operations.

Access the consultation platform here: https://shorturl.at/xaj7b

UNSD would appreciate receiving comments and suggestions on the draft P&R by the deadline of Monday, September 30, 2024.

For any questions or assistance regarding the consultation process, please contact UNSD at censusprogramme@un.org with copies to tadesse5@un.org; smith61@un.org and ogawah@un.org.