Research Guides: South Asian Studies: Census of India

Census of India overview

"The Indian Census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India. With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years, beginning from 1872 when the first census was conducted in India non-synchronously in different parts. To scholars and researchers in demography, economics, anthropology, sociology, statistics and many other disciplines, the Indian Census has been a fascinating source of data. The rich diversity of the people of India is truly brought out by the decennial census which has become one of the tools to understand and study India." [From the 2009 version of the Government of India census website.]

The earliest Census in modern form was undertaken in the late 1860s through 1871. The official Government of India Census website describes predecessors and general history here. See also the Bibliography of Census Publications in India, cited below, for everything published up to 1972.

Bibliography of Census Publications in India by Compiled by C.G. Jadhav; with assistance of Charan Singh [and] Anand Prakash; edited by B.K. Roy Burman. With a foreword by A. Chandra Sekhar
Call Number: Z3205 .I85 1972
Publication Date: 1972

Government of India Census website

Census of India materials at Emory

Emory has various proportions of the Census of India reports.

1871 (nothing)
1881 (nothing)
1901 (15 of 26 volumes)
1911 (almost complete set)
1921 (2 out of 25 volumes)
1931 (about 10 out of 30 volumes)
1941 (almost complete set)
1951 (only 1 volume in print. See also the International Population Census microfilm.)
1961 (only 1 volume in print. See also the International Population Census microfilm.)
1981 (1 volume)
1991 (a couple CD-ROMs with tabular data)
2001 (A comprehensive set of CD-ROMs with tabular data)
2011 (Full set of printed reports on order as of Spring 2013. Print volumes remain the most complete resource for census data.)

Here is a sampling of resources from a search in DiscoverE for "Census of India."

Related resources

Census of India website of the Government of India
Current website includes data from 2011 and 2001. Excerpts from earlier reports are listed here. Earlier versions of the site may be found in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Census of India Digital Libraray
Digital Library makes available all Census Tables published from 1991 to 2011 Censuses, Census Reports and other digital files for free download in soft copy format. [Beta version. Your experiences may vary.]
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Also...
1805 Books and Reports (in Pdf ).
54016 Census Tables from 1991 Census to 2011 Census (in Excel and Csv).
908 Photographs of Census Publicity (in Jpg and Bmp).
44 Census Maps (in Pdf).
68 Publicity Audio Clips (in Mp3 and Wav).
80 Power Point Presentations (in Pptx).
This is only a beta version Send your feedbacks at rgi.rgi@nic.in
Center for Research Libraries
CRL has microform copies of census reports from 1872, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, 1941, and 1951, as well as major portions of later reports as well as ancillary monographs.
Data Stories
This Indian journalist's blog "Data Stories" shows what can be done with the data in terms of interpretation and presentation.
Digital colonial documents project (India)
Has a small set of documents related to the Census Reports of 1871-72, 1881, 1891, and 1901.
Digital South Asia Library
Digital copies of statistical abstracts from 1840-1920.
Google Books
As of 2013 only incomplete sets of the earliest census of India reports are available via this source. Hathi Trust may be a better source for the same digitized materials.
Hathi Trust
Over 400 items from the Census of India reports. Volumes prior to the copyright law cutoff year of 1924 are available for full view but are scattered among the records for the various contributing libraries. Later volumes are not viewable but may be searchable.

IndiaStat This link opens in a new window
Provides socio-economic statistical information about India. Categories include administration, agriculture, finance, consumer affairs, law, and more.
Demographics, Economy, Education, Electoral Data, Environment and Pollution, Foreign Trade, Forest and Wildlife, Geographics, Health, Houses and Households, Industries, Insurance, Labour and Workforce, Market Forecast, Media, Meteorological Information, Mines and Minerals, Per Capita Availability, Petroleum, Power, Social and Welfare Schemes, Sports, States and Union Territories, Telecommunication, Tourism, Transport, Urban Areas, Villages.

WorldCat
This union catalog of libraries indicates that many university libraries have substantial sets of the Census. Use Inter-Library Loan (ILL) for specific titles or volumes.