Census Mapping

Census mapping refers to the cartographic presentation of the results of censuses in order to reveal spatial patterns in the data. Despite difficulties in achieving complete enumeration, the high population coverage of censuses means that it is usually possible to obtain data for very small geographical areas which can form the basis for detailed maps. Censuses are usually administered by means of a questionnaire for each member of the population covering a range of demographic and socioeconomic topics. Postenumeration processing of these forms permits the production not only of simple counts and percentages such as numbers of households without a car or percentage persons unemployed, but also a wide range of cross tabulations and derived indicators such as social class, geodemographic classifications, and multivariate deprivation indicators. This article considers the overall role of censuses, the uses of census mapping, and a range of census mapping techniques.