The population and housing census in a register based statistical system

Abstract

The population and housing census has for decades been in most countries the backbone of social statistics, and this was also the case in Denmark. However, a traditional census is an extremely costly operation and a long lasting process. This applies especially for the past making data less useful. On this background the direct use of administrative registers in statistics was introduced in Denmark in the 70's. The paper describes the way to the first totally register based population and housing census that ever took place in the world in 1981, and how the use of administrative registers changes the production of statistics and the demand for statistics as well. In the register based systems most statistics can be produced annually or more frequently, for example population statistics could in principle be produced daily. The first register based census carried out in 1981 turned out to be also the last census published in Denmark. Denmark still undertakes censuses based on registers, but only to fulfil international commitments. The conclusion is that in a register based statistical system, like the Danish, the census has lost its importance and has nearly disappeared.