This is a list of national population and housing censuses.

Census advisory The United Nations recommends a census enumeration at least once every ten years, and once every five years for even better data, rather than simply relying on estimates and projections alone. Complications to carrying out a census include tribal conflict, war, borders not demarcated, budget, inexperience, political snags, lack of manpower, and poor geographic information systems. A number of nations have not carried them out once a decade. It is not uncommon for a scheduled census to be deferred or delayed.

Lebanon has not held a census since 1932. Afghanistan is closing in on five decades without a census. DRC and Uzbekistan stand out as not having a census since before 1990. Eritrea has only had one as a part of Ethiopia in the 1990s.

Methods of conducting population census More countries are switching to using administrative data to hold a census. This allows a simulated census to be conducted by linking several different administrative databases at an agreed time. Using administrative data/combined data Using collected dataNetherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, FinlandUnited Kingdom, United States, Japan

Africa Algeria Population and housing censuses have been carried out in Algeria in 1966, 1977, 1987, 1998, 2008, and 2020.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Algerian population since the first official census carried out in 1966. N. Year PopulationAlgeria Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1966 11,908,000 2nd 1977 16,948,000 1977 Algerian census 3rd 1987 23,038,942 1987 Algerian census 4th 1998 29,100,867 1998 Algerian census21st century 5th 2008 34,080,030 2008 Algerian census

Angola

General censuses of population and housing (Portuguese: Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação (RGPH)) were carried out in 1970 and 2014. The 1970 census counted 5,646,166 habitants. The 2014 census counted 25,789,024 habitants as of May 16, 2014.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Angolan population since the first official census carried out in 1970. N. Year PopulationAngola Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1970 5,646,166 21st century 2nd 2014 25,789,024 2014 Angolan census 3rd 2024 36,604,681 2024 Angolan census

Benin Population and housing censuses have been carried out in 1978, 1992, 2002 and 2013. 2013 census preliminary results have been published. Final results were published in 2015.

Botswana

Censuses in Botswana are run by the Statistics Botswana (formerly Central Statistics Office). There have been twelve censuses in Botswana's history. The most recent occurred in April 2022.

Burkina Faso The Institut National de la Statistique et de la Demographie has conducted four censuses: in 1975, 1985, 1996, 2006 and 2019.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Burkinabé population since the first official census carried out in 1975. N. Year PopulationBurkina Faso Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1975 5,638,203 2nd 1985 7,964,705 1985 Burkinabe census 3rd 1996 10,312,609 1996 Burkinabe census21st century 4th 2006 14,017,262 2006 Burkinabe census 5th 2019 20,505,155 2019 Burkinabe census

Congo (DRC) The first and so far only census conducted in DR Congo dates from 1984.Recensement scientifique de la population 1984. Résultats provisoires

Egypt

The Statistical Department of the Ministry of Finance conducted the first census in 1882, which considered as a preparatory step; the first true population census was conducted in 1897. Thereafter, censuses were conducted at ten-year intervals in 1907, 1917, 1927 and so on. The last one being in 2017.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Egyptian population since the first official census carried out in 1882 N. Year PopulationEgypt Population and Housing Census19th century 1st 1882 6,806,381 2nd 1897 9,734,405 1897 Egyptian census20th century 3rd 1907 11,189,978 1907 Egyptian census 4th 1917 12,716,255 1917 Egyptian census 5th 1927 14,177,864 1927 Egyptian census 6th 1937 15,921,000 1937 Egyptian census 7th 1947 18,967,000 1947 Egyptian census 8th 1960 26,085,000 1960 Egyptian census 9th 1966 30,076,000 1966 Egyptian census 10th 1976 36,626,000 1976 Egyptian census 11th 1986 1986 Egyptian census 12th 1996 59,276,672 1996 Egyptian census21st century 13th 2006 2006 Egyptian census 14th 2017 94,798,827 2017 Egyptian census 2026 Estimates

Ethiopia Three censuses have been taken in Ethiopia: 1984, 1994 and in 2007. The responsible institution is the Central Statistical Agency. Most of the census in 2007 was taken in August, while the Somali Region and the Afar Region were not covered. The northern Afar region is a remote, hot and arid area. The eastern Somali region (Ogaden) hosts a large nomadic Somali population and is a conflict area where Ethiopian regular forces are fighting against Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Ivory Coast

Four general censuses of population and housing (French: Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat (RGPH)) have been carried out in, the latest ones being in 1998 and 2014.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Ivorian population since the first official census carried out in 1975. N. Year PopulationIvory Coast Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1975 6,709,600 2nd 1988 10,815,694 1988 Ivorian census 3rd 1998 15,366,672 1998 Ivorian census21st century 4th 2014 22,671,331 2014 Ivorian census 5th 2021 29,389,150 2021 Ivorian census

Kenya The first census in Kenya was conducted in 1948, when Kenya was still a colony administered by the British. Since 1969 census has been taken every ten years. The last census, overseen by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, was in 2019 and recorded a population of 47.6 million.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Kenyan population since the first official census carried out in 1969. N. Year PopulationKenya Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1969 10,942,705 2nd 1979 15,327,061 1979 Kenyan census 3rd 1989 21,443,636 1989 Kenyan census 4th 1999 28,686,607 1999 Kenyan census21st century 5th 2009 38,610,097 2009 Kenyan census 6th 2019 47,564,296 2019 Kenyan census 2025 53,330,978 Estimates

Libya

Libya's last census was carried out in 2006.It showed a population of 5.657.692 people.

Madagascar Madagascar had its latest census in 2018, the third census to be conducted. It recorded a total resident population of 25,674,186 inhabitants.

Mauritius Population and housing censuses for Mauritius was collected in 1972, 1983, 2000, and 2011; although respondents were asked to identify their race/ethnic origin in the 1972 census, this question was dropped from the following censuses because "the government felt that it was a divisive question"."2010 Round of Censuses: Learning from the 2000 Round Country position: Mauritius February 2006" . Retrieved April 3, 2009. The Statistics Act directed that all official censuses be conducted by Statistics Mauritius, as well as serve as the central depository for this information.

Morocco

General censuses of population and housing (Arabic: الإحصاء العام للسكان والسكنى / French: Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat (RGPH)) have been carried out since independence in 1960, 1971, 1982, 1994, 2004 and 2014. The 2014 census results will be published on http://rgph-2014.hcp.ma/ by the end of 2014.

Demographic and historical evolution of the Moroccan population since the first official census carried out in 1960. N. Year PopulationMorocco Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1960 11,626,232 2nd 1971 15,321,210 1971 Moroccan census 3rd 1982 20,449,551 1982 Moroccan census 4th 1994 25,821,571 1994 Moroccan census21st century 5th 2004 29,475,763 2004 Moroccan census 6th 2014 33,337,529 2014 Moroccan census 7th 2024 36,157,337 2024 Moroccan census

Mozambique The first census was taken in 1980. The second in 1997. The third was taken August 1–14, 2007. The fourth and most recent was taken in 2017.

Namibia In accordance with the Statistics Act No. 66 of 1976, Namibia conducts a Population and Housing Census every ten years. After independence the first one was carried out in 1991, further rounds followed in 2001 and 2011. In Namibia, the de facto method is used. For enumeration purposes the country is demarcated into 4,042 enumeration areas. These areas do not overlap with constituency boundaries to get reliable data for election purposes as well.

Nigeria Population censuses have been taken in Nigeria during colonial time in 1866, 1871, 1896, 1901, 1911, 1921 and 1952. The censuses covered only the southern part of the country except for the 1952 census which was country wide, and the censuses before 1921 were based on administrative estimates rather than on an actual enumeration.

Censuses during independence were taken 1962, 1963, 1973, 1991 and 2006. The results of the 1962 census were considered inaccurate enough that a new census was ordered on February 19, 1963.Larry Diamond, Class, Ethnicity, and Democracy in Nigeria: The Failure of the First Republic (Syracuse University Press, 1988) p136 The results from 1973 and 2006 were highly disputed, but no recounts were taken. The preliminary results for 2006 indicates a population of 140 million people. 700,000 enumerators were engaged in this operation.

Rwanda

Demographic and historical evolution of the Rwandan population since the first official census carried out in 1978. N. Year PopulationRwanda Population and Housing Census20th century 1st 1978 4,831,527 2nd 1991 7,157,551 1991 Rwandan census21st century 3rd 2002 8,128,553 2002 Rwandan census 4th 2012 10,515,973 2012 Rwandan census 5th 2022 13,246,394 2022 Rwandan census

Somalia There has been only one successful census in Somalia, carried out in 1975. The 1986 census remained incomplete, and its results were never published.

South Africa The Cape of Good Hope conducted the first modern scientific census in 1865, following the principles laid down by the British Colonial Office and repeated the exercise in 1875 and 1891.23 The Orange Free State followed in 1880 and 1890, copying many of the features of the Cape of Good Hope.24 The South African Republic (Transvaal) followed in 1890.However, the enumeration was restricted to the White population. After the South African War of 1899–1902, all the colonies undertook censuses in April 1904, but although broad coordination took place the results were presented according to the views of the four individual census commissioners.28 The detailed coordination of censuses evident in pre-federation Australia was therefore not in evidence in South Africa. The establishment of the Union of South Africa as a British dominion in 1910 necessitated a new start to enumeration in the country and the statistical definition of the new state and ordering of its population through the census. G20-'66, Census of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 1865 (Government Printer, Cape Town, 1866); G42-'76, Census of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 1875, Part I Summaries (Government Printer, Cape Town, 1877); G6-'92, Census of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 1891 (Government Printer, Cape Town, 1892) The first census of Union of South Africa was taken in 1911. Several enumerations have occurred since then, with the most recent three being carried out by Statistics South Africa in 1996, 2001, 2011 and 2022.

Sudan Population censuses have been carried out in Sudan in 1955/56, 1973 (national), 1983 (national) and 1993 (only north). A census was conducted in April 2008. Some areas—namely Darfur, Juba, and Malakal—were difficult to measure.

Togo General population and housing censuses were carried out in 1960, 1970, 1981 and 2010.

Tunisia