Rising costs could mean Britain's 2021 census is its last. America's population count faces similar challenges
A DOG-SLED or a snowmobile is the surest way to reach Toksook Bay in rural Alaska, where Steven Dillingham, the director of America’s census bureau, will arrive to count the first people in the country’s decennial population survey on January 21st. The task should not take long—there were only 590 villagers at the last count, in 2010—but it marks the beginning of a colossal undertaking.
Population counts long predate the founding fathers. Babylonians recorded their numbers on clay tiles as far back as 3800BC to work out how much food to grow. In ancient Athens administrators counted piles of stones, one added by each citizen, to gauge military capability and tax revenues. And Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem after Emperor Augustus decreed that “all the world should be registered”.
Is there a better way? For the first time this year, Americans will be able to fill out the census online. This risks missing hard-to-reach groups such as indigenous populations and the old. It also introduces unforeseen headaches. In 2016 Australia’s census website crashed, leaving millions unable to submit their responses and venting their anger with the hashtag #censusfail.
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