and one census from a developing country.
Census is defined as the phenomenon of counting the entire population in a defined region/
territory or in a country. Census requires several components to complement each other for a
production of desired results. This implies that the census demands a sound budget given that
the number of people will be employed, new technology will be utilized, and the fact people
will be trained in terms of how to use these gadgets is costly. However, it is very significant to
highlight the importance of conducting a census. Census is very important as it aids policy
makers by providing data about a particular aspect and provides data about some socio-
economic information. Therefore, policy makers can make a well-informed decision based on
the information provided by the census. Furthermore, census is used by the private sector for
analysis, also for providing samples for sampling frames. The census results are used as a
benchmark for research and analysis. Population projections are one of the most important
analytical outputs based on census data.
Traditional census methodology
Traditionally, there are two primary methods of enumeration that are typically used in censuses.
Either census enumerators conduct interviews with families to gather information, or
individuals in the household complete the forms themselves (a process known as self-
enumeration). With this final method, enumerators give the forms to the houses and then
retrieve them through mail. While the remainder of the population uses a short form, a lengthy
form is sent to a sample of the population. The advantages of this approach include lower labour
and time requirements for processing the data gathered, as well as a reduction in the complexity
and expenses associated with conducting census. Small areas and population groupings cannot
access census findings on detailed characteristics (included in the long form) since the data
gathered with the long forms only represents a sample of the population.
The idea behind the traditional census is straightforward, putting it into practice is a massive
and intricate procedure that costs a lot of money (hiring supervisors, enumerators, and other
staff members, printing and distributing census forms, entering the data, and analysing the
data). Furthermore, the expenses associated with a traditional census are primarily focused on