Question

What is the meaning of population census?

Answer 1

The whole methodology of acquiring, collating, evaluating, or somehow distributing demographic, socioeconomic data related to all inhabitants in a country or a division of a country at a certain period is known as a population census. As a result, the census provides a glimpse of the country's population projections at any given time.

Complete explanation
A population census is a standardized assortment of data on all individuals in a population who are either (de jure) natives of a country or who are present at the time of counting (de facto).
A census may exhibit four attributes, and per the United Nations:
Each person is counted separately, and the aspects of each member of the family are treated as distinct.
The census encompasses a specified geographic area and includes everyone who is present or dwells within its boundaries. Every form of housing facility and living space should be counted in the housing census.
Each person, as well as each form of housing complex and dormitories, is listed in relation to a specific time period.
The census is done on a periodical schedule, typically every ten years.

Additional information:
A population census gathers data on basic demographics such as age, gender, marital condition, household proportions, family attributes, and residential size. A housing census gathers data on structures, dormitories, and related amenities.

Note:
The census' significance stems from the fact that it provides a holistic image of social structure at a particular period in the context of multiple, diverse, and ongoing transformations that are impossible to quantify using other research methodology. The census provides an appropriate repository for demographic data, as well as social and economic elements of a society.