This publication reports the main characteristics of the structure of agriculture in countries as defined by the characteristics of agricultural holdings, gender of holder, land tenure and land use, crops, livestock, etc., and the metadata on each agricultural census covered in the publication. The 2000 programme covered the censuses carried out during the decade (1996 - 2005). Some 122 countries are reported to have carried out an agriculture census during the decade, and 114 countries made available their census reports to FAO.

This publication is a methodological review of the agricultural censuses conducted within the framework of the Programme for World Census of Agriculture 2000. It covers methodological aspects like enumeration methods and techniques, census frames, geographical and holding type coverage, census scope, date processing and tabulation, data quality and dissemination, integration of agricultural censuses with other censuses and surveys.

At the end of each census round, FAO reviews and assesses national census practices, methodologies and results, and summarizes the findings in methodological publications, under the Statistical Development Series (SDS). For the WCA 2010 round (2006–2015), these assessments have been presented in two separate publications. The first one, titled “Main results and metadata by country” (SDS 17), published in 2019, presented a compendium of census metadata and main results for a record number of 127 countries and territories. The SDS 18, i.e. this publication, presents in its first part (Chapters 1 to 12) a methodological review of the national censuses. In its second part (Chapter 13), it illustrates global comparable data on key variables characterizing the structure of agriculture. The global review of census results includes key structural variables that are not available elsewhere. Some examples are number and area of holdings, land tenure and holder gender. Other variables are land size classes, average holding sizes, legal status of holders, household sizes, source of farm labour, land use and operated land.

At the end of each round, the FAO Statistics Division reviews and assesses national census practices, methodologies and results, and summarizes the findings in methodological publications, under the Statistical Development Series (SDS). The SDS 17, i.e. this first publication, is a compendium of reviews of country agricultural censuses conducted during the WCA 2010 round (which covers the period 2006–2015) and their main results. This publication includes detailed metadata on agricultural censuses conducted by different countries. Apart from providing information on historical background, legal, institutional frameworks and international collaboration, the publication also provides an overview of the census staff, reference and enumeration periods, scope and coverage, methodological modalities, frame, data collection methods, questionnaires used, new technology used, data processing and archiving, and census data quality and dissemination. The metadata reviews are complemented by tables with main results on key structural characteristics, such as number of holdings, total area of holdings, area irrigated, machinery, gender, and sex of holders, number of household members, farm labor, livestock, and crop areas. This review of the WCA 2010 round is intended to serve as useful reference material for census planners and data users, providing valuable lessons for future censuses, which will ultimately lead to improved assessments of countries’ agricultural sectors.

Each round of agricultural censuses covers a ten-year period. The present round (WCA 2020) covers agricultural censuses to be undertaken between 2016 and 2025. The census of agriculture continues to play a key role in the collection of structural data on the agriculture sector. The WCA 2020 will ensure that data collected are comparable at the international level while also addressing emerging information needs of the 21st century. Four modalities for conducting a census of agriculture are envisaged: the classical (one-off) approach, which is still widely used; the modular approach, which was introduced in the WCA 2010; the integrated census/survey modality, involving rotating survey modules over the years between two censuses; and the combined census modality, which uses administrative data. The concept of ‘essential’ items is re-introduced and ‘frame’ items are now separately identified for those countries wishing to adopt the modular approach or follow-up surveys. The programme emphasizes the benefits of the developments in information technology for census data collection, processing and dissemination. This publication provides guidance on agricultural censuses carried out by countries in the period between 2016 and 2025. The WCA 2020 will ensure that data collected are comparable at the international level while also addressing emerging information needs of the 21st century.