Population counts and projections
Choose between a historical enumeration and a dated projection, and keep the geography and reference date attached to every total.
Unit of interestPeople
Open the research guide Browse the place directories and read the reference tables below. Search and interactive comparisons need JavaScript.
A guide to the evidence
Population topics.
Find the right official data.
Find the census tables, surveys and administrative sources that fit your question. Coverage includes people, households, movement, visitors and the wider economic context.
Coverage has a meaning. Place profiles reproduce checked figures. These topic guides explain the scope of additional official datasets and link to their original tables; they do not claim every underlying district, village or indicator has already been imported.
16 topic guides
Households, housing and amenities
Understand the difference between people, households and buildings before interpreting housing conditions, shared assets or access to services.
Unit of interestHouseholds or census houses, as specified
Open the research guide Age, sex and fertility
Read age structure, sex ratios and fertility indicators with the right population, time window and source method.
Unit of interestPeople, population shares or children per woman
Open the research guide Education and literacy
Separate literacy, completed education and current enrolment, then choose the appropriate age group and geographic table.
Unit of interestPeople within the table’s eligible ages
Open the research guide Work and employment
Match the worker definition, eligible ages and reference window before using census workforce counts or newer labour survey rates.
Unit of interestPeople, labour-force shares or employment shares
Open the research guide Consumption and market size
Use household expenditure evidence to build a dated market scenario without mistaking consumption for income or population for customers.
Unit of interestRupees per person per month, or a clearly defined market unit
Open the research guide Migration and mobility
Distinguish a population with a migration history from new moves, temporary stays, commuting and tourist visits.
Unit of interestPeople with defined migration histories, or explicitly measured movements
Open the research guide Tourism and visitors
Read domestic visits, foreign arrivals and destination activity without confusing repeat trips with unique people or residents.
Unit of interestVisits or arrivals, according to the table
Open the research guide Rural, urban and settlements
Understand census settlement classifications and choose a geographic area that matches the comparison or service catchment.
Unit of interestPeople within a defined rural or urban geography
Open the research guide Language, religion and social groups
Use published community classifications for aggregate context while preserving their definitions, geography and historical date.
Unit of interestPeople within the source’s stated classification
Open the research guide Disability and accessibility
Read historical disability counts in their original categories and identify the additional evidence needed to plan accessible services.
Unit of interestPeople classified under the source’s disability questions
Open the research guide Births, deaths and survival
Separate registered events, sample estimates, certified causes and life-table measures before interpreting demographic change.
Unit of interestEvents, rates, ratios or years of remaining life
Open the research guide Identity and administrative records
Understand what an administrative system records, how coverage is calculated and why its total may differ from population.
Unit of interestAdministrative records or explicitly defined coverage estimates
Open the research guide Business, agriculture and other censuses
Choose establishments, operational holdings or land area when a population count is the wrong starting point for the research.
Unit of interestEstablishments, operational holdings, workers or hectares
Open the research guide Districts, villages and wards
Locate detailed Census evidence using place codes, geographic hierarchies and the right handbook or table family.
Unit of interestThe specific census geographic unit
Open the research guide Historical censuses and time series
Compare periods on a consistent territorial and statistical basis, preserving revisions, footnotes and changes in method.
Unit of interestPeople or rates on a documented comparable basis
Open the research guide No matching topics. Try another term.
Need a recent source?
The current-data finder highlights the dated projections, sample surveys and administrative releases already included in this edition.