Many countries and national censuses currently enumerate or have previously enumerated their populations by race, ethnicity, nationality, or a combination of these characteristics. Different countries have different classifications and census options for race and ethnicity/nationality which are not comparable with data from other countries. In addition, many of the race and ethnicity concepts that appear on national censuses worldwide have their origins in Europe or in the views of Europeans, rather than in the views of the locals of these countries.

Africa

Angola

The Portuguese asked about race in colonial censuses when they controlled Angola, and they provided three options: White, Mestiço, or African/Black. Africans had to then pick either "Assimilado" (assimilated) or "Indigenato" (indigenous). Angola has not used any racial categories since its independence in 1975. Tribe and language for Africans were recorded only in 1950 and 1960.

Benin The people in Benin were enumerated by ethnicity in 1979, 1992, and 2013 but not in 2002.

Botswana Botswana enumerated people by race in all censuses between 1904 and 1946, and again in the 1964 census (though not in 1956), but in no censuses after 1964. People were enumerated by language use in 1946 and 1956 and again in 2001 and 2011.

Cape Verde Cape Verde enumerated its population by ethnicity in 1950.

Central African Republic The Central African Republic enumerated its population by ethnicity in 1959/1960.

Chad Chad enumerated people by ethnicity in 1993 and 2009.

Democratic Republic of Congo The people in the Democratic Republic of Congo were enumerated by ethnicity from 1955 to 1958.

Republic of Congo The people in the Republic of Congo were enumerated by ethnicity in 1960, 1974, and 1984.

Equatorial Guinea The population of Equatorial Guinea was enumerated by ethnicity in 1950.

Ethiopia Ethiopia enumerated people by ethnicity in 1994 and in 2007.

Gabon The population of Gabon was enumerated by ethnicity in 1960–1961 and 1993.

Ghana The population of Ghana was enumerated by ethnicity in 1960, 2000, and 2010.

Guinea The population of Guinea was enumerated by ethnicity in 1955.

Guinea-Bissau The population of Guinea-Bissau was enumerated by ethnicity in 1950 and in 2009.

Ivory Coast

The people of Ivory Coast were enumerated by ethnicity in 1948, 1957–1958, and 1988. The ethnicity data from 1957 to 1958 was only for the rural areas of the country, though.

Kenya Since 1945, Kenya enumerated people by ethnicity from 1948 all the way up to its most recent census in 2009 (however, the 1999 census ethnicity figures were not made public). There were some concerns about asking an ethnicity equation in the 2009 census since it came just a year after the disputed Kenyan presidential election of 2007 and the riots that followed it. Kenya, nevertheless, went through with asking about ethnicity in 2009.

The number of ethnic categories and sub-categories recorded in the country's census has changed significantly over time, expanding from 42 in 1969 to more than 120 in 2019.

Lesotho People in Lesotho were enumerated by race between 1904 and 1976, but not after 1976. Language was only recorded in 1946 and 1956, tribe and language for Africans were recorded only in 1950 and 1960.

Malawi People in Malawi were enumerated by race between 1911 and 1987, and again in 2018. They were enumerated by language only in 1966, 1998, and 2008. They were enumerated by tribal affiliation only in 1926, 1945, and 2008.

Mali Mali enumerated people in some parts of the country by ethnicity in 1950.

Mauritius Mauritius enumerated its population by ethnicity in 1952, 1962, and 1972.

Morocco

Morocco enumerated people by ethnicity in 1950 and 1971. The 2014 census enumerated people by nationality.

Mozambique People in Mozambique were counted by race only in 1894, 1970, 1997, 2007, and 2017. The race categories in Mozambique were the same ones as in Angola, due to both being controlled by Portugal before acquiring their independence. People were counted by language in all censuses since 1940.

Namibia People in Namibia were enumerated by race in all 20th century censuses but not in the 2001 census. They were enumerated by language in all censuses since 1951.

Niger Niger enumerated people by ethnicity in 1959/1960 and 2001.

Nigeria

Nigeria enumerated people by ethnicity in 1963. In addition, Nigeria has announced plans to enumerate its population by ethnicity in its 2016 census.

Rwanda Rwanda enumerated people by ethnicity from 1933/34 until 1991. Due to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the ethnic hatred and tensions that caused it, the Rwandan census of 2002 did not enumerate people by ethnicity.

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe enumerated its population by ethnicity in 1950 and 1960.

Senegal The people of Senegal were enumerated by ethnicity in 1960–1961, 1988, and 2002.

Seychelles The people of the Seychelles were enumerated by ethnicity in 1947, 1987, and 1994.

Somalia In the pre-independence period in Somalia, the colonial administrations in British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland officially classified the ethnic Somali majority within the two territories as "Hamitic". The Italian Somaliland census of 1935 reported that the remaining 6.2% of the area's population consisted of "Negroid groups", including the Bantu ethnic minorities inhabiting the southern riverine region. These census designations were at the time pre-assigned rather than based on self-reporting. Following independence in 1960, no official census was taken until 1975. This first post-independence national census only collected information on district of birth. However, the general government literature maintained that the country's ethnic Somali majority was of Hamitic stock, or alternately of Arab heritage. Similarly, Article 3 of the Provision Constitution adopted in 2012 indicates that Somalia is an Arab nation. In 2014, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation also announced that it would release a new national population census before 2016.

South Africa

South Africa has enumerated people by race in all of its censuses since 1904. Five population group options are provided in response to the question "How would (name) describe him/herself in terms of population group?": "Black African", "Coloured", "Indian or Asian", "White" and "Other".Census 2011 Household Questionnaire A South Africa has also asked about language use since 1921 for white South Africans and since 1936 for all races.

Sudan Sudan enumerated people by ethnicity in 1956.

Swaziland The Swazi census counted people by race in all censuses between 1904 and 1976. People were counted by ethnic group and tribe only in 1966 and 1976.

Tanzania The Tanzanian census enumerated people by race from colonial times until 1967, by ethnicity and tribe from colonial times until 1973. It enumerated people by language only in 1952 and 1958.

Togo The people in Togo were enumerated by ethnicity in 1948, 1958–1960, and 1970.

Tunisia Tunisia enumerated people by ethnicity in 1956.

Uganda The people of Uganda were enumerated by ethnicity from 1948 all the way up to Uganda's most recent census in 2012, with the exception of 1980 and possibly 1969.

Zambia People in Zambia were not continuously counted by race before independence, and when they were counted by race it were primarily the non-Africans/non-blacks who were counted. People were counted by language only in 1931, while they were counted for ethnicity at various points since 1969. The 1969 census asked about language but not ethnic group, and the 1974 census asked about ethnic group, but not language. The 1980 census asked about ethnic group, mother tongue, and language of most frequent use, while the 1990 census asked about ethnic group and mother tongue. The 2000 census asked about ethnic group, language of most frequent use, and second language.

Zimbabwe People in Zimbabwe were enumerated by race between 1901 and 2012, but many censuses were done separately for Whites/Europeans and Blacks/Africans before the 1970s. People were enumerated by language only in 1982 (when they were enumerated by "[their] father's dialect").

Asia

Abkhazia People in Abkhazia (when it was still a part of the Russian Empire) were enumerated by native tongue in the 1897 Russian Empire Census. In addition to the Soviet Union enumerating people by ethnicity for its entire existence, the partially recognized state of Abkhazia also enumerated people by ethnicity in its post-Soviet censuses of 2003 and 2011.

Afghanistan Prior to 2010, Afghanistan had not held a census since 1979 due to the wars and conflicts that have occurred there over those three decades (since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979).

Armenia People in Armenia (when it was still a part of the Russian Empire) were enumerated by native tongue in the 1897 Russian Empire Census. In addition to the Soviet Union enumerating people by ethnicity for its entire existence, Armenia also enumerated people by ethnicity in its post-Soviet censuses of 2001 and 2011.

Azerbaijan

People in Azerbaijan (when it was still a part of the Russian Empire) were enumerated by native tongue in the 1897 Russian Empire Census. In addition to the Soviet Union enumerating people by ethnicity for its entire existence, Azerbaijan also enumerated people by ethnicity in its post-Soviet censuses of 1999 and 2009.

Bahrain Bahrain enumerated people by ethnicity in 1965 and 2010. The 2010 Bahrain census also enumerated people by their religious beliefs.

Bangladesh British India (which Bangladesh was a part of) enumerated its population by race between 1872 and 1941.

Brunei Brunei enumerated people by ethnicity in all censuses since 1947.

Burma The people in Burma (also known as Myanmar) were enumerated by ethnicity in 1931, and 1953. A new census which plans to enumerate the people of Burma by ethnicity and race is planned to be held in 2014. The 1931 Burmese census generated a lot of anger from non-Burmese ethnic groups who were marked as Burmese on the census. There is hope that the scheduled 2014 Burma Census will help empower the various ethnic groups in Burma.

China

The People's Republic of China counted people by ethnicity since at least 1952 but does not count people by mother tongue.

Cyprus The people of Cyprus were enumerated by ethnicity in 1960.

East Timor East Timor enumerated its population by ethnicity in 1950.

Georgia People in Georgia (when it was still a part of the Russian Empire) were enumerated by native tongue in the 1897 Russian Empire Census. In addition to the Soviet Union enumerating people by ethnicity for its entire existence, Georgia also enumerated people by ethnicity in both post-Soviet censuses in 2002 and 2014.

India When it was a British colony, India enumerated its population by race between 1872 and 1941.

In 1872 the first British Indian colonial census classified the population into racial groups through their religion and castes. Later the census also included the categories of tribe and race, although Political Scientist Ram B. Bhagat states that “the distinction between them was often obscure”. Bhagat also claims that these classes were efforts to try to “identify a race within religion and religion within a race”. After the 1872 census, racial categories were only used for the Christian population. The five main categories used for this group were Native Indians, Asiatics, non- Asiatics, Mixed Races, and Mohammadian.