Pausing the Population Project

I have decided to put the Population Project on standby. Our website will remain up and running but we’re halting our efforts to collect and process new lists until further notice.

The reason is deceptively simple: except for a few countries with an abundance of data, most territories do not publish enough information for us to document at least 10 to 20% of their population. This is the case for pretty much all African countries but also, more surprisingly, for European states like Switzerland and Spain. Western democracies clinging to their data doesn’t bode well for regimes like China, Russia, and North Korea.

When I launched the Population Project in 2021, I was expecting a challenge, but I was also betting on a global trend towards more digital and transparent societies. Apparently I was wrong. If countries like Mexico release more data than they used to four years ago, others like Germany don’t seem to think they owe a modicum of transparency to their citizens.

After poring over thousands and thousands of lists from 100 different countries, I am still shocked at how little accountability we all ask from our governments. Countries run censes, the results of which are never shared. Except for a handful of countries (go Costa Rica!), voters lists are kept secret. Few exam results are public, fostering fraud and slowing down hiring processes. And barring a few Latin American countries, citizens do not know the names of the beneficiaries of the social programs their taxes make possible. In my humble opinion, the worldwide rise of populism feeds on our governments’ opacity. How can we be expected to build a better society if we don’t know each other?

There’s a real chance that this pause is only temporary. We will keep monitoring the level of public information available online. At the first indication of a shift, we’ll resume operations.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you want to know more about the Population Project. I remain 100% committed to the cause – once a people counter, always a people counter.