Okuzeka
History vocabulary · Sources and Archives

Census

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˈsensəs/nounCommon term

In history, census means: An official count of a population carried out by a state, usually recording details such as age, sex, household, occupation or property.

In Turkish: nüfus sayımı, sayım

How it is used

Censuses are taken or carried out, and historians use census returns or records as sources for social and economic history. Early counts were often made for tax or military purposes and might include only men or households.

Example sentences

  1. The Ottoman census of 1831 counted only the male population.

  2. Census records show how many households in the village owned land.

Common collocations

  • take a census
  • census records
  • population census
  • census data
  • the first modern census
  • primary sourceEvidence created at the time being studied or by people who witnessed it, such as letters, diaries, official records, photographs or objects.
  • urbanizationThe growth of towns and cities, and the movement of a growing share of the population from the countryside into urban areas.
  • migrationThe movement of people from one place to another to live, either within a country or across borders, alone or in large groups.
  • archiveA collection of historical records kept for long-term use, or the building or institution where such records are stored and made available to researchers.

More terms: Sources and Archives

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