what is a census in statistics

In statistics, a census is a survey that studies every member of a population, which is known as a complete enumeration. It is a way to find and record information about every member of a population, and it results in a parameter for a population, as opposed to a statistic. A parameter contains information about everyone in the population, while a statistic only tells you something about a small part of that population. Studying every member of a population is usually not practical because of finances or time constraints, and with the exception of the U.S. Census, censuses are very rare. A census can be contrasted with sampling, in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population.