National agricultural censuses in Poland from 1921–2010 : evolution, thematic scope and relevance for the study of rural and agricultural history

Population censuses have been organised sporadically since antiquity, but in the 19th century they acquired a universal character. These censuses are a good source of information on the rural population, but it was not until the introduction of systematic national agricultural censuses that a broader picture of the countryside and agriculture was obtained. In the censuses conducted after 1918 in Poland, there was a fixed catalogue of questions on the characteristics of farms, but each time new questions were also introduced to reflect the specificity of agriculture in a given historical period. The censuses were conducted on a fairly regular basis and, therefore, they provide valuable information for comparative analyses. Due to their universality and thematic scope, they also collect data on demography and socio-professional and economic relations that are not available in other sources.