2006-09-11 11:27:22 · 4 answers · asked by IMNOTOKAY!!! 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
A count of the entire population...it's taken every 10 years, 1990, 2000, 2010...it gives total population counts of nation/state/city and other demographic data. It is used to allot representation for example, last census, TX surpassed NY in population, so NY lost 2 seats in the house and TX gained those 2 seats.
2006-09-11 11:30:29 · answer #1 · answered by ♥austingirl♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). It can be contrasted with sampling in which information is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such it is a method used for accumulating statistical data, and it is also vital to democracy (voting). Census data is also commonly used for research, business marketing, and planning purposes.
The United States Constitution mandates that the census be taken at least once every 10 years (the U.S. Congress could require a more frequent census by legislation), and that the number of members of the House of Representatives from each state be determined accordingly. In addition, Census Bureau statistics are used for apportioning Federal funding for many social and economic programs. But there is not a federal census legislation (nor for federal voting).
2006-09-11 11:37:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is a count of the population of the USA or any other country that takes one.
We, the USA, take one and have been taking one on these years.
1770
1780
1790
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
and the next one will be in 2010.
the reason we take a census is to keep a close-to-accurate population count. this way, we can have an idea of how many illegal immigrants there are in the USA. if we take one every ten years and keep track of how many babies are born and keep track the legal immigrants coming to this country, we know NEAR exactly how many citizens we have.
I REALLY hope this helped you.
2006-09-11 11:57:32 · answer #3 · answered by ♥LindseyK♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where I live it is taken every 5 years. It is important for the government to get a snapshot of the population. It shows how much population growth is going on, so they can see how much money they will need in the future to maintain the healthcare and superannuation systems etc. It show them how much we are earning and spending to see if more families are poverty stricken, and if they need to initiate more wage related incentives. You know, shows them all the important stuff about us.
2006-09-11 11:36:32 · answer #4 · answered by Kathiiy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋