The population and housing census is part of an integrated national statistical system, which may include other censuses (for example, agriculture), surveys, registers and administrative files. It provides, at regular intervals, the benchmark for population count at national and local levels. For small geographical areas or sub-populations, it may represent the only source of information for certain social, demographic and economic characteristics. For many countries the census also provides a solid framework to develop sampling frames. This publication represents one of the pillars for data collection on the number and characteristics of the population of a country.

Over 1,000 pages with information on American life -- who we are, where we live, what we do, what we eat and where we work. This valuable reference is filled with thousands of statistical tables covering 31 key areas ranging from demographics and government spending to transportation and construction. Within its pages you will find the answers to question such as: -- What are the biggest, fastest-growing and slowest U.S. industries? -- What is the rate of mortgage delinquency and foreclosure? -- How many new businesses are started each year? How many fail? -- What are the wealthiest and poorest areas of the country? -- How has the purchasing power of the dollar changed over time? -- How many U.S. companies have been acquired by foreign companies? -- What kind of Internet access services are being provided in public libraries? -- How many bankruptcy cases are filed in each state? -- What are the trends in corporate profits? -- What are the trends in corporate profits? -- Has the rate of marriage and divorce changed in this decade? -- How many people are employed in various types of retailing?

This publication provides an overview of census and survey data editing methodology. It reviews the advantages and disadvantages of manual and computer-assisted editing, and presents, in detail, procedures and techniques for editing census data at various stages of processing. Technical considerations, particularly those pertinent to programming, are covered in the annexes.

From Book's Preface: Contains summary population totals for the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas and for major race groups and an overview of political, statistical, and technological context in which the census took place. Describes preparations for the census, including lessons learned from the 1990 census, consultations with governmental and other data users, recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and other advisory groups, and the plans for and results of census tests conducted between 1992 and 1998. Summarizes the history of each question on the short and long forms, the response categories, data uses, and any associated editing, allocation, and coding instructions. Reviews evaluations and recommendations from the 1990 program, the decision to use paid advertising in Census 2000, developing and implementing an integrated marketing strategy, components of the partnership program, and a series of special initiatives. Describes the organization and distribution of regional census centers and local census offices, the hiring and training of temporary field staff, the hardware and software used to track and assess census progress, and the different components of the enumeration process. Summarizes the decision to hire contractors to conduct data capture and manage the data capture centers, the hardware and software used to capture census data, the headquarters tabulation process, identification and deletion of duplicates, editing and imputation, intermediate data files, and the creation of the 100 percent and sample detail files. Covers such topics as data collection and tabulation geography, mapping, creating and updating the census address list, data products and their dissemination, the experimental and evaluation programs, legislation, litigation, the debate over sampling, and the census in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.