1. Population register (paras. 500-501)

The population register is a mechanism for the continuous recording of selected information pertaining to each member of the resident population of a country or area, making it possible to determine up-to-date information about the size and characteristics of the population at selected points in time. Because of the nature of a population register, its organization, as well as its operation, should have a legal basis.1 2 Population registers start with a base consisting of an inventory of the inhabitants of an area and their characteristics, such as date of birth, sex, marital status, place of birth, place of residence, citizenship and language. To assist in locating a record for a particular person, household or family in a population register, an identification number is provided for each entity.