Race and ethnicity in censuses

Many countries and national censuses currently enumerate or have previously enumerated their populations by race, ethnicity, nationality, or a combination of these characteristics. Different countries have different classifications and census options for race and ethnicity/nationality which are not comparable with data from other countries. In addition, many of the race and ethnicity concepts that appear on national censuses worldwide have their origins in Europe or in the views of Europeans, rather than in the views of the locals of these countries.

People in Abkhazia (when it was still a part of the Russian Empire) were enumerated by native tongue in the 1897 Russian Empire Census. In addition to the Soviet Union enumerating people by ethnicity for its entire existence, the partially recognized state of Abkhazia also enumerated people by ethnicity in its post-Soviet censuses of 2003 and 2011.

Prior to 2010, Afghanistan had not held a census since 1979 due to the wars and conflicts that have occurred there over those three decades (since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979).

Albania enumerated people by ethnicity in 1955, 1989, and 2011. The 2011 Albanian census also enumerated people by language used and by their religious beliefs.

The Portuguese asked about race in colonial censuses when they controlled Angola, and they provided three options: White, Mestizo, or African/Black. Africans had to then pick either "Assimilado" (assimilated) or "Indigenato" (indigenous). Angola has not used any racial categories since its independence in 1975. Tribe and language for Africans were recorded only in 1950 and 1960.

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