Experts warn that millions of census data around the world are not counted, which puts makers in the darkness of the people they manage. They said that the unreleased census data are developing a “quiet crisis” due to concerns about the decline in response rates and data accuracy.
In published papers scienceresearchers from the University of Southampton and Columbia Climate School noted that the shared 199 pandemic saw a decline in confidence in institutions and collapsed the “perfect storm” of international support.
“We live in an age of seemingly unlimited data, but some of our most important demographic information is deteriorating, bringing known and unknown bias into decision-making,” said Dana Thomson, deputy director of scientific applications at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), a part of the climate school.
Townsend and her co-authors say the recent international aid budget cuts to the United States, the United Kingdom and other European countries will worsen the situation.
The decision about where to set up a hospital or how to allocate resources to a school depends on knowing how many people live in different places and who they are. This information is particularly important in crises, such as disease outbreaks or natural disasters.
“The lack of census data can harm all areas of public administration, but we don’t look at these statistics in the same way as other important infrastructures, such as bridges or roads,” said Jessica Espey, the University of Southampton, and associate director of its WorldPop research program. “When groups are not counted, they may be excluded from the policy agenda. Insufficient political figures and subsequent inadequate allocation of resources can have harmful effects.”
The government has used census data for thousands of years to guide resources and predict future challenges and opportunities, such as aging population or emerging young people.
However, the proportion of the world population covered by the latest census has decreased. Of the 204 countries that conducted the census between 2015 and 2024, 24 of them did not release results. They represent a quarter of the world’s population.
Postoperative surveys that independently assess the integrity of the census also indicate decreased accuracy and coverage. For example, the 2020 U.S. census could have reduced the Latino population by 2.9 million, while South Africa’s 2022 census reduced the country’s total population by 31%.
The 19009 pandemic ruined traditional House interviews and affected funding. Researchers also highlighted distrust of national governments, such as some communities’ concerns that immigration-related legal departments or AI-backed decisions will use their data to treat them. Others are concerned about the threat of data breaches and cyber attacks.
In February, the Trump administration cut back on support for the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) program, which has provided important health data in 90 countries over 40 years. Other countries such as the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands also provide perfect development assistance for defense spending, reducing bilateral aid and multilateral contributions to the United Nations.
New technologies, such as AI-derived building footprints in satellite images, can support the planning and implementation of the census and potentially reduce costs, indicating recent success in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the researchers said.
They also said governments need to do more to build trust, show how census data affects people’s daily lives, and transparently use that data to inform decision-making.
“From climate change to the challenge of economic inequality, accurate demographic data is not a luxury, it is an essential infrastructure for a healthy, resilient, fully functional society,” said Andrew Tatem, co-author of the paper.
“Current population sales create a negative feedback loop, leaving the government with less accurate information about the communities that need it most. This threatens both statistical accuracy and the basis for fair governance.
By combining technological innovation with new public trust and international cooperation, we can ensure that everyone is counted and that everyone is counted. ”
Adapted from a press release written by Steve Williams,,,,, University of Southampton.
Media Contact: Francesco Fiondella, Columbia Climate School, [email protected] or 1-646-321-2271.
