Two thousand years ago, according to St Luke, Emperor Augustus decreed that all the world should be registered. A carpenter and his pregnant wife walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem to comply. Evidently, the Romans had little trouble with their census response rate.

Ever since those times, countries have counted their populations. For those filling in the forms, it is a nuisance, to be sure. But governments need reliable figures to plan public services.

To read the article on The Australian website, click here.