It is important to determine the contents of a census operation for example the topics to be included in the census questionnaire, that is, the items on which information is to be collected from each individual, because that information would be of maximum use to the country.
The willingness and ability of the respondents to give information is also taken into consideration. Topics which are likely to arouse fear or prejudice and questions which are difficult for the respondents to answer are not generally included in any census questionnaire.
The United Nations Organisation has prepared a list of recommended and other useful topics to be covered by a census from 1970 onwards.
An estimate of future population and its age-sex structure helps us in estimating future military and economic manpower, future school-going population and related requirements, future growth in metropolitan cities, and requirements of food, water, housing and health services.
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The census data are also used for demarcation of constituencies and the allocation of representation in a democratic set-up. The number of voters, present and future, can also be estimated with the help of census data.
The census is thus an extremely useful source of knowledge and the information available through all over the world “contributing to a revolutionary expansion of global economic, sociological and demographic knowledge.”