Each country uses a different methodology to conduct its census, and data between countries are often not comparable. Also, many countries conduct their censuses in different years than the U.S. Click here (and scroll down) to find the date of the most recent census in a particular country.
Increasingly, the most current census results are posted on a country's statistical agency website. Click here for a list of links to statistical agency websites, or see the National Statistical Offices and Central Banks Web Archive for archived versions of international statistical office web pages.
Historical international census publications and reports may be found either digitally in the Global Census Archive database or in print. To locate historical print volumes,* go to the Princeton Library Catalog and perform a Subject (browse) search as follows: (country name) -- census.
Also see the United Nations Population and Vital Statistics Report - The United Nations' most recent national level statistics on country population size (total, male and female) from the latest available census of the population, national official population estimates, and the number and rate (births, deaths and infant deaths) for the latest available year within the past 15 years. Also presents U.N. estimates of the mid-year population of the world, and its major areas and regions.
Note: for information about international census microdata, see Princeton's Census Microdata Holdings, available from the Library's Data and Statistical Services collection.
*To OCR scan a printed table and convert it to an Excel spreadsheet, see the Library's Data & Statistical Services.
Handbook of National Population Censuses - Documents the definitions, concepts, trends and contents of population censuses around the world.
Africa and Asia. E. Domschke & D.S. Goyer. New york : Greenwood Press, 1986.
Europe. D.S. Goyer & G.E. Draaijer. New York : Greenwood Press, 1992.
Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania. D.S. Goyer & E. Domschke.
Digitized print census publications including results, methodological publications, promotional materials, administrative and legal documents and questionnaires for 200+ countries. Varying content and publication dates, ranging from 1565-present. Includes digitized versions of the complete International Population Census microfilm Collection (IPC) from Gale/Cengage.
National Statistical Offices and Central Banks Web Archive - Archived links to Country Statistical Office web pages containing census information for numerous countries beginning July, 2018
Census Reports - South Asia Open Archives - Censuses of India 1871-1951
World Population Census Forms 1955-Present - Provided by IPUMS International
Stokes Library holds the International Population Census Microfilm Collection. Almost all of the material in this collection is available digitally in the Global Census Archive database. To determine if census materials for a particular country are available in microfilm, see the publisher's guide. Under Collection List, choose International Population Census Publications. Once the PDF is downloaded, search for the country of interest.
For more detailed information about the microfilm holdings, see the following:
Pre-1945: International Population Census Bibliography, University of Texas at Austin: Bureau of Business Research 1965-1968. v.1-6;suppl.
1945-1967 Bibliography and Reel Index: a Guide to the Microfilm Editions of the International Population Census Publications 1945-1967. Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications 1979.
Post 1967 International Population Census Publications, Post 1967 : Guide to the Microfilm Edition. Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications, 1981-