An international perspective on the undercount of young children in the U.S. Census
Abstract
The U.S. Census Bureau's Demographic Analysis shows that young children (age 0 to 4) had a higher net undercount rate than any other age group in the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census. Three key patterns are evident in the U.S. data relative to the net undercount of young children. First, there has been a relatively high net undercount of children under age 5 for several decades. Second, the net undercount for young children is higher than the net undercount for older children. Third, young children have a higher net undercount than any other age group. Data from several other countries are examined here to see if the patterns observed in the U.S. relative to the net undercount of young children are also seen in other countries. Examination of data from several countries indicates that most have experienced a net undercount of young children and that young children typically have higher net undercount rates than older children. However, in the countries where data were available, young children are not the age group with the highest net undercount. In most countries examined here young adults have a higher net undercount rate than young children.
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