recensements

Recensements are official censuses conducted by governments to count the population and to collect data about its characteristics. They provide a detailed overview of the size, distribution, and composition of a country or locality and support a wide range of public policies, from representation to planning and resource allocation.

Data collected in a recensement typically include the number of people living in a dwelling, age, sex, household composition, and place of residence. Many censuses also gather information on occupation, education, housing type and conditions, and migratory status. In some contexts, additional questions on language, citizenship, or ethnicity are included, although the use and disclosure of such data are subject to legal and ethical constraints.

Methodologies vary: traditional censuses rely on enumerators and self-report questionnaires, while modern approaches may combine administrative records, sampling, and rolling or continuous data collection. Regardless of method, confidentiality and data protection are central, with strict rules governing access to individual responses and the use of results for statistical purposes.

Historically, censuses date back to ancient civilizations and expanded with the growth of modern states. In many countries, censuses are conducted at regular intervals (for example, every ten years), though some jurisdictions use rolling or ongoing methods to maintain more up-to-date data. Recensements underpin political representation, public spending, urban and regional planning, and demographic research, making them a foundational instrument of statist handling of population information.