CENSUS

             The periodic count of the population of a country is called census.

Excepting the occasions of national emergency or a widespread natural calamity in a country census is conducted every ten years. Irrespective of the size of a country or of the form of its government, a census is a regular task undertaken by every country at regular intervals of ten years. Census has a very great national importance as it couples and records very valuable information about a land and its people at a given point of time.

             Certain well-defined purposes govern enforcement of census. It graphically registers the trends in the population of a country—whether the population is increasing or decreasing. It records the detailed number wise proportion of men and women, young and old citizens of a country. It clearly shows the trends in the rates of birth and death and the net increase or decrease in population.

             The objectives of a census are much more than simple covering the traits of a population. An efficient civic administration becomes possible only when the wide ranges of facts revealed by the census are minutely considered and their implications accurately realized. A census is essential for implementation of effective economic planning. A census, for example, discloses the existence of the different types of households in the country.—normal, institutional or houseless. It shows the typical industries,—large-scale or cottage industries. The census also furnishes a classified list of the vocations of the people as well as a similar list of their economic activities. Above all, a census provides accurate information about the employed and the unemployed, the illiterate and the literate of a country. All these records of information are absolutely indispensable for the planners, businessmen and entrepreneurs.