IPUMS-International Disseminates Big Census Microdata

Robert McCaa, University of Minnesota
Lara Cleveland, University of Minnesota
Patricia Kelly Hall, University of Minnesota

The IPUMS-International initiative (www.ipums.org/international) disseminates integrated census microdata to researchers world-wide free of cost. The IPUMSI database has increased ten-fold over the past decade, currently encompassing 238 anonymized with hundreds of integrated variables samples representing 74 countries and totaling over one-half billion person records. The database is getting bigger in 3 ways: 2010 round census samples (27 done), new partners (25) and a new mode of remote access for higher density samples with greater detail. More than 8,000 users from over 100 countries are currently registered for access. Analytics reveal surprising insights in traffic, usage and publications. Significant challenges remain.