India to Launch World’s Largest Census in 2027

India will commence the world's largest population census on March 1, 2027, with an estimated population of 1.4 billion people. This extensive exercise, involving three million officials, aims to provide critical data for government policies and resource allocation.

The census will be conducted in two phases, starting with a housing enumeration from March 1 to September 2026, followed by a focus on demographic and social data. The process will include door-to-door visits and online self-enumeration options, available in 16 languages.

A significant aspect of this census is the inclusion of caste data, which has not been comprehensively collected since 1931 during British colonial rule. The previous census was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last recorded population was 1.21 billion in 2011.

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country, with a current estimate of 1.42 billion people.