ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at demographic controversies about the size of the population, birthrate and classification of individuals by race and ethnicity, household characteristics and trend in marriage and divorce. These controversies have public policy implications for congressional representation, social security financing, affirmative action, and family law. In addition, because demographic data are used in so many areas of social science, the potential problems described here have implications for research outside the field of demography itself. In the United States, major source of demographic data is the US Census, an attempt made every ten years to count each individual, citizen or noncitizen, with or without legal documentation, who resides in the country. Less well known but similarly comprehensive are US Vital Statistics that tabulate most births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. The chapter explains that undercount was estimated to be four times as high for blacks as for whites and nine times as high for inner-city residents as for the general population.
