IPUMS International

IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) at the University of Minnesota harmonises census microdata across countries and time periods — so a variable like ‘educational attainment’ means the same thing in India 2001, India 2011, Brazil 2010, and Kenya 2009. For India, IPUMS International hosts harmonised samples from the 1983, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2004, and 2011 censuses (the 2011 sample covers ~23 million person records). Researchers can build cross-country or inter-temporal comparisons — for example, comparing female labour force participation in India vs. Bangladesh over three decades — using a single, consistently coded dataset. Free registration required.