Proposal Description

In many countries, the census is the primary and often only source of official statistics about its Indigenous population. Indigenous Peoples are often numerically small within their own countries, geographically dispersed and poorly captured through standard household surveys. Globally, there are 476 million Indigenous Peoples across 90 countries, yet many remain statistically, invisible, undercounted or misclassified. This session is an introduction to the work of the newly created Special Interest Group on Indigenous Statistics. Specifically, the censuses of four countries with Indigenous populations will be examined: Zambia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Each country has different approaches. The 2022 census in Zambia was conducted by census enumerators, who collected data digitally. Australia, which relies on self-report, conducts a census every five years; but, trends cannot be attributed to demographic changes alone. New Zealand is conducting an administrative records census - not a new methodology, but unusual for Indigenous populations. The United States has a decennial census, collected every ten years. While the census provides counts and basic information, the American Community Survey provides annual detailed data on population characteristics. Yet, the Indigenous population in the United States is too small for annual estimates and has to rely on pooled estimates over three to five years.