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Indian census: Past and present

Article in Social Change · June 2006

DOI: 10.1177/004908570603600204

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Indian census: Past and present

Bhaswati Das and Dipendra Nath Das
Social Change 2006 36: 41
DOI: 10.1177/004908570603600204

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41-56 Social Change : June 2006 : Vol. 36 No. 2

Indian census: Past and present

Bhaswati Das*
Dipendra Nath Dm**

The current paper is an effort towards highlighting the i) changes in

terms of its content and coverage, ii) steps towards modernisation.
It will attempt to stress the changes made in the Indian census since
its inception with special emphasis on the 2001 census. However,
changes in definitions related to different concepts used in the h a a n
census are not in the scope of this paper.

INTRODUCTION
India is a country with a long and vivid history of civilisation. Different
rulers from different parts of the world ruled over different parts of India
at different stages of history. All these conquerors intended to extend
their territory and administer them. Knowing the land and its people was
an essential component to extend their rule in the territory. Thus different
types of surveys were undertaken at different time periods with varied
objectives of resource collection to territory extension. The British were
more concrete in their colonial spirit. The then government felt that for
proper administration of the country it was imperative for them to
understand the social structure of the country, its people, their religious
beliefs, and their ethnic compositions, besides their customs and manners.
Further, they wanted to exploit the natural skill of the traditional craftsmen
for furthering their interest in the world trade, particularly in view of the
competition posed by the French, the Portuguese and the Dutch in Asia
and the Far East. This prompted them to study the traditional occupations,
crafts, fairs and festivals of the 'natives' (Padmanabha, 1978). It may be
concluded that among different steps adopted by the British to do resource
mapping, both physical and human, conducting population census was an
epic one.

* Associate Fellow. Council for Social Development, 53 Lodi Estate, New Delhi I I0 003.
* * Associate Professor CSRD. Jawaharlal Nehru liniversity. New Delhi I10 067

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42 Social (‘hange : June 2006

In 1865 the then government had agreed with the principle that a general
population census would be taken in 187 1. This modern census was known
as the census of 1872. Since then, each census is an improvement upon
the others. These changes are made to match with the time-specific demand
from administration and policy-makers. The policy-makers are highly
dependent on census data to design the policy. Coverage has increased
not only in terms of new variables, but also in terms of different cross
tabulations. It has also started exploring a new set of data users. Starting
from traditional data users among the administrators and academicians, it
has extended its users’ fraternity to the modern corporates.

METHODOLOGY
The present study is based on an empirical study. As part of the study, in-
depth interviews were conducted with the census data users across the
country. The interviewers comprise researchers from government and
non-government sectors, administrators, ehcationists, students from
different streams and planners of corporate houses.

CENSUS ADMINISTRATION
Pre-Independent India was under the British rule with some small
independent territory of the native rulers. Thus all the rulers did not
participate to conduct the first census of India. Even among the participant
administrative units, conducting census was not time synchronised.
During pre-Independence each province had one provincial superintendent
who used to act for that province. Reporting structure of census operation
was also different for each province. The 193 1 census set a pattern where
responsibility of the Provincial Census Superintendent was only to conduct
the census and submit the primary administrative report. Further processing
and statistical analysis of the data was to be presented by a different set
of experts. It should be appreciated that in spite of having a tremendous
problem of travelling through India with very low road and transport
density, every remote corner of the country was covered under the census
operat ion.
The first post-Independence census of India was undertaken in 195 1 .
Though the census of 195 1 was after Independence, the organisation was
not completely restructured till that time. Post-lndependence Census has
shown a change in administrative structure only in the 196 1 census. The
responsibility of conducting census was delegated to the Ministry of Home
Affairs of the Union Government. Till 1951, the census office was to

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43 Social Change :June 2006

work as a temporary administrative arrangement. The task used to draw

officials from different government departments. In 1961 the census got
a regular permanent administrative set up under the Ministry of Home
Affairs. The office was named Office of the Registrar General of India
(ORGI) in 1961. The office was responsible to collect and calculate vital
statistics data, which was considered essential for planning and
programming. The Registrar General of India was assigned the additional
charge as Census Commissioner. Till date it remained the same.

EVOLUTION OF VARIABLES
Pre-Independence
The Indian census, as we see it today, was not the same since the beginning.
The evolution of the variables took place over time. This gigantic
administrative task mostly fulfilled the administrative requirements at the
first instance and academic requirements only after that. Every addition
and deletion of variable was thus made with the administrators’ changing
areas of interest. Thus it is observed that over the decades the socio-
cultural variables become complex with finer emphasis on the information,
namely religion, sect, caste, sub-caste, mother tongue and biligualism. It
is also seen that the efforts made to develop fine definitions and
classification of work were intensified.
The first census of 1872 was started by covering the basic information
on house type, basic demographic characteristics including age, religion,
class/caste, race, disability, education and occupation. The census of 188 1
added three new components to this information. These variables are related
to nuptiality, migration and mother tongue. The third Indian census (1 891)
put great emphasis on caste data and refined the caste data by identifying
main caste and sub-caste of the population. This census also differentiated
between people with knowledge of the mother tongue and people having
knowledge of foreign languages. This objective was clear to identify the
concentration with people who had communication skills with the foreign
rulers and to identify the strength of English culture. The question was
further focused when in the 1901 census the more specific question of
language was asked. Here the question was asked clearly about knowledge
of the English language. The 1901 census was also a major modification
towards identification of the workers by their principal and subsidiary
activities. The next two censuses collected more or less the same
information as it was modified in the 1901 census. The 1931 census
included the divorced status as a component in describing marital status.

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44 Social Change : June 2006

The last census under British rulers in India was in 1941. This census
was a major step forward towards shaping the census variables as we see
them now. In this census for the first time questions were asked on children
ever born. The Indian National Congress, during this time only, started
emphasising population growth and control in the continent in their
development agenda. Thus it was important to know about the population’s
fertility pattern. Another major departure observed on language where for
the first time knowledge of any Indian language, other than the mother
tongue was stressed. Though information about knowledge on English
continued. A lot of emphasis was put in understanding the employment
data which incorporated the component of unemployment, duration of
unemployment, nature of employment, home-based economy and dimension
of family labour. All these were very consistent with the then persisting
socio-political situation. Much alteration occurred in the political situation
after the Second World War. The British were losing their grip over India,
started considering increased participation of Indians in administration,
established Population Data Committee, Health Survey and Development
Committee (popularly known as the Bhore Committee). The formulation
of the questionnaire reflects many of the inquiries made by the Indian
National Congress on country demography.

Post-Independence
Ten years between 194 1 and 195 1 experienced tremendous political turmoil
not only in India but also worldwide. India became independent from
British rule. The contemporary aspiration of the administrators towards
the well-being of the nation was reflected in the 1951 census. This was
the first census by independent India. Taking convergence with the
incidence of Partition of India and exchange of population between India
and East and West Pakistan, information on displaced persons were
included in this census. One set of optional questionnaires was prepared
for the state governments, which were to canvass among the indigenous
people in the particular state. Apart from all the regular information of the
census schedule, it included information on the land they had in their
possession and also rented out land. They also tried to enquire whether
the lands were put under sharecropping or not. Only during the 1951
census, was land tenancy elaborately scrutinised. The optional state
volumes of the 1951 census tried to detail the fertility information. The
195 1 census also attempted for the first time in the history of the Indian
census to make a! assessment of the accuracy of the census count by a
re-check in the field (Srivastava, 1972).

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45 Social Change :June 2006

From 1961 onwards the Census of India undertook various research

assignments based on census data. The research team of the office also
undertook several special studies' . The 1961 census was accepted as a
milestone in the history of the Indian Census. This census generated
tremendous academic interest with an increasing number of anthropological
and social studies. Some of these studies were looking beyond census
data and reflected the research acumen of the organising team by providing
much localised information. National and international scholars from
different fields undertook different studies using information from the
1961 census. The census recognised the role of mapping the demographic
phenomena as a base for regional planning. As a result, the Map division
was established within the census organisation. This census also introduced
the mechanical tabulation in data processing. This census acts as a base
for the remaining censuses conducted thereafter.
A hundred years of the Indian census was celebrated after completion of
the 197 1 census operation. As commemoration several publications on
the evolution of the Indian census appeared. These volumes, though not
widely available, are relevant till date to know the history of the Indian
census. The 1971 census also gave the demographic variables its modern
shape. This census dropped the question on nationality, which was included
in the 1961 census. However, there was an elaboration on migration
information by adding information on birth place and place of last residence.
Information on duration of residence at the village or town of enumeration
was also collected in this census. The 1971 census listed the information
about age at marriage and any children born in the last one year was
collected as part of the main schedule (the 195 1 census had fertility and
nuptiality question as part of the optional set).
The 1981 census has expanded its scope further. There are several
departures from the 1971 census in its designing the variables as well as
in administration of the questionnaire. While discussing designing the
variables, one must mention at the very beginning that the concept of
worker was changed to a trichotomous division in 1981 that categorised
workers as main and marginal workers and non-workers. This refinement
was done understanding the huge mass of workers that does not get
employment throughout the year. A new item of seeking/ available for

1 As an adjunct of the 1961 ceiisus, several social and anthropological studies were
taken up by the Cdnsus Organisation Preparation of ethnographic monographs on a
number of selected SCs and STs, socio-economic surveys of 500 and odd rural habitats
and several handicraft survey reports are included in these special studies

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46 Social Change : June 2006

work was added to identify sharper estimation of unemployment. The

question on disability arose for the first time in the 1981 census.
A unique method was adopted for the first time where some item of
individual information was canvassed on a sample basis. The individual
slip thus consists of a set of universal items to be canvassed for every
person and a set of sample items to be canvassed only for a sample
population (ORGI, 1980). The universal individual slip was the same pattern
of 1971 with inclusion of one variable on school attendance. The sample
individual slip collected provides in detail the reasons for migration and
number of children ever born and number of children surviving. This
census planned to bring out a set of national-level data on a 5 per cent
sample before bringing out the actual data products. This was planned to
provide some key data very quickly.
The 199 1 census again has experienced a technological interface. In its data
dissemination specially, a distinct departure was visible. The census was also
a departure from 198 1 in designing the houselist information. The schedule
was expanded to collect the information on household amenities only during
houselisting. Questions regarding type of cooking fuel used and availability of
toilet facilities for rural areas were collected in the houselist. The census also
collected information on ex-servicemen and their status as pensioners and
non-pensioners. Apart from these changes, there were certain modifications
in terms of data processing where reasons for migration was expanded to
cover migration due to natural calamities and Primary Census Abstract (PCA)
was designed to present data for each Community Development Block in the
rural areas all over the country. To do the task, 163 Regional Tabulation
Offices were established where PCA tables were prepared manually. The
1991 census used microcomputers attached to the mainframe computer for
other data analysis. This was a great step towards the use of modern technology
in census data processing. Data dissemination through diskettes and CD-
ROMs was introduced in a big way in the 199 1 census.
The discussion of the above section shows the tremendous effort behind
the census data collection to make it most reliable and demand-specific.
The most effort is made to define work and workers. The 1941 census
was more elaborate in coverage of economic data, whereas from 1961
onwards, constant efforts were made to refine the definition. More
sensitisation of the enumerators regarding collection of information on
the female workforce is under process. This section has undergone the
maximum changes in terms of definition and coverage. Annexure I
summarises the census coverage of major variables since 1872.

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41 Social Change : June 2006

CENSUS OF THE 21st CENTURY

The Indian census of 2001 is the first in this century. Keeping pace with
modernisation, the 2001 census has adopted modern technology in every
aspect of its deliberations. Apart from minor changes by adding more
options or filters to the information, the 2001 census has some new
variables, e.g. the question on disability is back after the 1981 census.
New questions on travel to places of work for non-agricultural workers
are added. Age at marriage data are collected separately for males and
females. But major improvement of this census is in terms of its use of
technology for data processing as well as for information dissemination.
The cost incurred by the 200 1 census operation was about Rs.1 1 billion.
Houselist schedule has observed substantial expansion and commensurate
with the demand of the planners and data users changes are made. For the
first time information on household assets and availing of the banking
service are incorporated in the household schedule. Information on
availability of kitchens, drainage, bathrooms, and separate living rooms
for the couples are collected in the 2001 census (ORGI, 2001).
Not only in the data processing but to deliver the data in usable formats,
the 200 1 census has adopted modern technology. In its course of operation
it has developed some unique features in its system. However, it is important
to mention that all these features will affect only the data dissemination.
The unique features of the 2001 census are as follows:
100 per cent transfer of data from millions of individual slips and
household schedules
Census has started providing online data
Registrar General’s office is accessible through e-mail
It is providing paid consultancy services to generate customised tables

Data Processing
As evident from the previous discussion, that till 1991 data feeding was done
manually in the computer. Considering the huge population size of the country,
it was really difficult to process all data on a 100 per cent coverage basis.
Thus some of the information was processed on a sample basis. Some of the
tables in migration series and fertility series were generated by processing
sample questionnaires in an earlier census. However, the census of 2001
shows a new direction by scanning the schedules to transfer the entire data in
the computer. The technology has replaced the task of keying in all the
information into the computer. This was also not an easy task considering

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48 Social Change : June 2006

India’s huge population. This was more difficult as the questionnaires were
filled up by the enumerators in handwritten format. Every individual has his/
her own style of cursive. Even numerics develop a new shape when written
by hand. All the columns were filled up in different handwriting of 6 lakh and
odd enumerators. Identifying all t.he error components and correcting them
then and there was of course a tedious effort made by the Census of India.
This technique has reduced the data feeding time and also this will enable
us to get 100 per cent coverage for all the variables. It was expected that
this method would reduce the data release time drastically. But this census
has observed considerable delay in releasing the key tables. After releasing
the provisional population total very fast (considering the revisional round
to be over on March 26, 2001) key final tables began appearing only in
2004. The ORGI has mentioned that the scope of tabulation of census
data is limitless but the focus has always been to produce basic and essential
tabulations as quickly as possible and in readily usable form (ORGI, 1980).
Thus, it was expected that with new technology the time would have
been reduced to get the complete set of data.

Publication
Keeping pace with the advancement and spread of information technology,
the census tried to modernise its publication policy. Users started receiving
soft copies of census data since 1991 in floppies. The fourteenth census,
however, provided the information on CDs. But major departure in data
availability lies in astonishing reduction in release of hard copies at the
first instances.
The 2 1 st century is called an era of communication with tremendous
technological interventions in all developmental activities. The Indian census
is no exception to use that technology. The 2001 census provides us data
through websites. The online data are among the most modern facilities
provided by the Indian census. It provides the information on data release.
The official website of Census of India (www.censusindia.net) is interactive
where online data users can register themselves at free of cost. Registered
users can put online quarries related to any census data and other related
matters. Apart from that, registered users receive information on data
release and services provided by the Census of India. The most interesting
part of the website is that it was launched with big promises and services
for the census data users. But .all the sincere efforts made by ORGI could
not be sustained at all. Over the years the publications of E-newsletters
virtually disappeared which is clear from the following table.

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49 Social ('hange June 2006

TABLE 1
Series of E-newsletters

Year ZOOI 2002 2003 2004 Till November 2005

No. of E-newsletters 5 8 6 I nil

Source: Prepared from available information on www.censusindia.net

Thus the effort of updating the current and prospective users with census
activities has been practically reduced to zero in recent years. Even most
of the options provided in the site are not updated regularly. Many of the
options in the census websites are repetitive and also not regularly updated.
The last updation for some of the information is as old as 1998, 1999
(www.censusindia.net).

TABLE 2
Access o f computers in India, 2002

Country PC per No. of PCs in Internet users

I000 people educational institutions per 1000 'people

India 7.2 347801 16

Source: World Development Indicators (2004), World Bank

All the recent data release activities when listed seem absolutely perfect.
But the reality is not such and encompasses the following problems:
The thin spread of computers and also lack of computer knowledge
shrinks the spread of census users. This has rightly being pointed out
that while technology allows dissemination of census data via the
internet, for many others, the text of the census tables remained
unavailable (Bose, 2004). The above table shows the current status of
spread of computers and users. India stands second among the SARCC
countries (after Sri Lanka) in spread of computers and in terms of
users (World Bank, 2004).
Even this data does not talk about the configuration of the computers,
which are in use. CDs available from ORGI cannot be read without
being installed in the PC. Installation of these CDs requires huge disk
space as they contain many graphics and music along with data.
Therefore, after installing the same, computers become absolutely
slow to undertake any further processing. Thus the purpose of easing
the task by providing soft copy is diluted.

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50 Social C'hongr June 2006

There is a limited spread of computers in educational institutions and

universities particularly those located in suburban areas. Even the non-
government and other research institutions, government departments
located in these areas face a problem with soft copies not only because
of configuration of computers but also because of lack of stabilised
electric supply and lack of training to use soft copies. This could
restrict the use of census data in a big way. It is feared that constant
reduction of hard copies may keep the interested and intelligent data
user of remote corners of India away from the use of census data.

BOX I
Hardware and software specifications

M i n i m u m hardware and software specifications to

install t h e CDs on p r i m a r y census abstract
Pentium 1 or above: .32MB RAM: 32 x CD-ROM drive: 800x600 video displa).
sound card: speaker; video display: Win97 or above: MS Office 97 or above:
Adobe acrobat

Source. Available on the cover of census CD

This phenomenon should be noted seriously keeping in mind the three

important consequences. Firstly, there are many other data sources, which
supply large-scale socio economic data (e.g. "SSO, NFHS, RCH, etc.)'
in required format. Secondly, the process of generating own data is
becoming popular, which also fulfil the need for many reputed organisations.
Finally and most importantly, some organisations are packaging data from
different sources, including Census of India data and selling it in a readily
usable format. If the Census of India is still in a dilemma on their
dissemination strategy there is every chance that census data will be sold
by other agencies with some value addition to it. Some very popular data
agencies are already in the market (CMIE, http://indiastat.com) who are
selling census data and generating revenue.

Consultancy Services
The Census of India has initiated a paid consultancy service for the data
users. This will help the users to get household-level information according
to the requirement. Both maps and household-level information will be
2 N\YO stands for National \ample \ u r v e v Organisation N F H C stand\ tor Nationdl
Family Health \ u r v e \ KC I I stands tor ReproductiLe and ( hild Health

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51 Social Change : June 2006

available from the census office. This was an announced programme by

ORGI but till date very little has been done to outline the modus operandi
of the service, especially related to the cost of the data and mode of
payment. The official website of the office does provide some examples
of consultancy rendered but without having any indication on pricing
mechanism. Personal experiences show that without getting any pointers
about the cost most of the interested people cannot pursue the matter
further. This interesting service which could generate sufficient analysis
as well as revenue from the flourishing knowledge business remained in
its feeble infancy till today. At every stage the users will face the problems
to conceptualise the nature of service, time required to procure the service,
location of availability of the facility, etc. Some of the enquiries are
reproduced below.

BOX 2
Consultancy service

Remained mostly unanswered

- Cost per unit of datahnformation

Minimum time required for procurement
Method of payment
* Level of information

- Mode of available data (hard data or soft copy)

Areahcation of availability of service
Eligibility to procure the data

CONCLUSIONS
After analysing the interviews of the users, the census of 200 1 is appraised.
All the new innovations including adoption of technology and generation
of new variables are detailed in the section. This analysis clearly shows
the departure of the Census of the Millennium from the previous censuses.
All these changes are keeping pace with the demand of the time. The
Census has tremendous scope of spread. To generate the best out of
these changes some more thought is required to disseminate these ideas.
The following section highlights some of the suggestions received during
the survey.

Awareness
In spite o f continuous efforts towards modernisation of the census
operation using all the latest technology, it still has a limited use. It has an

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52 Social Change : June 2006

immense database on demographic, socio-economic and cultural

characteristics of the population of the country. It is the only countrywide
available database for the historical past counting for more than 100 years.
But awareness of the researchers on that database is insufficient. People
are also not aware about the place of availability and method of acquiring
the census data.
The Indian census is unique in a sense that it is a house-to-house survey
conducted by the enumerators. All households, both institutional and
families are contacted. This can be considered one of the largest person-
to-person interaction with one single objective. But surprisingly that base
is never used to launch an awareness campaign.
So far awareness campaigns conducted by the census office remains
limited during census operations. The awareness campaign requires the
households to provide accurate data with patience to the census enumerator.
They also mention the duration of census operation. Immediately after
completion of the enumeration the awareness campaign disappears. The
campaign hardly emphasises making people aware of the place, time and
type of data available from the census.
The data release is even a low-key activity. News coverage is available
only during the first release where the gross information is covered.
However, subsequent releases hardly get any coverage in the media. The
only exception was observed during the release of the 2001 census data
on religion when extensive media coverage was received by that particular
data set.

Data Dissemination
Census data dissemination should be viewed with the recent Act passed3
in relation to the citizen’s Right to Information (RTI). The Act is just
framed and both information providers and the right asserters require
more clarifications on different issues. However, the following are some
important issues while considering easy access to information as part of
the citizen’s right.
Census operation is mostIy a centralised task. The task of designing the
operation takes place at the head office in Delhi. Training ofthe enumerators

3 T h e Right to I n f o r m a t i o n B i l l t h a t b a s o r i g i n a l l y i n t r o d u c e d in P a r l i a m e n t , i n
December 2004 The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh has m a d e some
hey changes to the country’s landinarh RTI A c t and passed the bill iii May 2005

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53 Social Change : June 2006

and data collection operation, for obvious reasons, is decentralised. But

data processing and dissemination is again centralised. All data are tabulated
and processed centrally. Reports are generated and released at the central
office first. It reaches the respective State Directorate (DCO)4 with a
substantial time gap. Thus the states have to wait even if they are informed
about the release. Moreover, the state DCOs are not equipped to supply
readily the data for other states of the country. It requires some time for
the DCO to procure the data from the Head Office and disseminate it. The
range of that time depends upon the willingness of the DCO to disseminate
data.
Even within a state the data is only available from the state head office
located at the state capital. With the current boom in social empirical
research activities, the researchers sitting in the remotest corner also need
census data. It is one of the biggest challenges of the modern census to
reach them. Thus even with spread of technology, the dissemination has
become more centralised. This is more visible in the census site where
for each and every procurement of data, the Head Office at Delhi is referred
to for communication.

Mode of Presentation
Census publications are now available in both hard and soft modes. This
mixing was started since 1991. Even after a decade, India is still not
sufficiently equipped to use the soft mode of census data. This is mostly
due to lack of spread of infrastructure as well as lack of computer operation
skill. The more weightage to soft mode deprives the new generation learners
from the colleges and universities to take more interest in using census
data. With a pressure on each system, it becomes difficult for the students
to learn and experiment with census data. One has to remember here that
understanding the scope, arrangement and use of census data is time
consuming. It is very important to note here that the census database is
huge and for expanding the number of users, new entrants should be
well-versed with the scope.
Apart from that, many of the old generation data users are not very
comfortable with the use of the soft mode. Though soft data are less
bulky and easy to play with, they always require an infrastructure support.

4 At the state level. Directorate of Census Operation undertakes the task of conducting
the census The data at the state level is disseminated only through this office The
office I S located at the state headquarters The office is mostly equipped to provide
the data pertainin_e to the particular state where it is located

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54 Social Change : June 2006

Government departments, NGOs who are located in hard to reach areas

are also not updated with the local census data. Thus while emphasisng
the soft mode of published data, remote areas should be prioritised to
receive the hard copies of published data. 0

REFERENCES
Bose, Ashish. 2004. Census Goldmine- Dissemination of 2001 Data, Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. 39, No.32, pp.3595.

Natarajan, D. 1971. Indian Census through a 100 Years-Census Centenary Monograph

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URL: http://www.censusindia.net0

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55 Social Change :June 2006

ANNEXURE I
Chart showing changes in socio-cultural information in Census: 1872-
2001

Censusyear 1872 1881 1891 1901 -11 -21 -31 -41 -51 -61 -71 -81 -91 2001

. . . ...........
Age
. . . ...........
. . . ...........
sex
Religion
Castelsect
RaceiTribe .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . Special
P U P
SCIST

Marital status
Literacy . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Mother tongue
Other tongues . . . . .. .. . . . . . .
. . . .... . .
English skills
Disability

Chart showing changes in economic information in Census: 1872-

2001

Censusyear 1872 1881 1891 1901 -11 -21 -31 -41 -51 -61 -71 -81 -91 2001

Occupation
......... .. ..
Principalhain
Subsidiary/ ...... ..
marginal
Sector/ ... 0 . ..
occupation
Dependents
Unemployed
....... 0 . e . .
Duration of
unemployment

'Unemployment questions were optional to state in the 1951 census.

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 56 Social Change : June 2006

Chart showing changes in migration information in Census: 1872-2001

Censusyeor 1872 1881 1891 1901 -11 -21 -31 -41 -51 -61 -71 -81 -91 2001

..
. . .
Nationality
Place of birth .....
.
b b . .

Displacement
Last residence .
....
. . a

Duration of
residence
Reasons for
migration
...
Chart showing change in fertility information in Census: 1872-2001
Censusyear 1872 1881 1891 1901 -11 -21 -31 -41 -51 -61 -71 -81 -91 2001

Age at
marriage
....
Duration ...
.. .
of marriage
Age at
first birth
Children
born
b ....
.

Surviving
children
.. ....
*Fertility questions were optional to state in the 1951 census.

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