Progression of the 2010 Census Round

Two hundred twenty nine (229) countries or areas have scheduled at least one census in the 2010 census round spanning the period 2005 to 2014. This also includes countries which base their detailed population statistics on population registers, administrative records, sample surveys or other sources or a combination of those sources. Of those 229 countries or areas, 183 have already conducted a census in this census round. Six countries or areas have not yet scheduled any census until 2014 (as of 1 May 2012; for a detailed table see here).

Figure 1 shows the overall temporal distribution of censuses over the period of the 2010 round (first censuses only). A number of countries/areas have postponed their census since the initial announcements shifting the peak of census taking from the year 2010 to the year 2011 when 61 countries or areas conducted a population census. The graphs in Figure 2 show the temporal distribution separated for the major regions. Note that dates of scheduled censuses may continue to change and that countries or areas which have not yet scheduled a census may do so in the future or that countries may renounce their already scheduled census.

Fig. 1: Distribution of conducted and scheduled censuses over the period of the 2010 Census Round. For every country or area only the first census in this round is included.

Fig. 2: Distribution of conducted and scheduled censuses over the period of the 2010 Census Round according to region (n.s. = not scheduled).

An estimated 6 053 828 931 persons (88% of the estimated world population) have been enumerated in the 183 censuses conducted as of 1 May 2012 (this figure is based on the projected population for the year 2010 as estimated by the UN World Population Prospect Revision 2010, Medium Variant). At the end of the first year of the 2010 census round, 2005, an estimated 5% of the world population had been enumerated (see Fig. 3). At the end of 2009 this proportion increased to 21%. The single year with the highest number of persons enumerated is 2010, when 43 countries or areas (including China) with a population of over 2 515 million (36% of the world population) conducted a census. The single year with the greatest number of cenusses is 2011: 61 countries or areas conducted a population census in that year. At the end of the census round in 2014, 98.8% of the world population will have been enumerated (based on the current census schedule).

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