This paper compares 4 items from the 1980 Malaysian census and the 1982 census of China: 1) the number of topics included in the census, 2) the use of sampling in census enumeration, 3) the information collected on fertility and mortality, and 4) the type of economic activity of the population. A striking difference between the 1980 Malaysian census and the 1982 census of China is the much larger number of topics canvassed in the Malaysian census. The Malaysian census included 34 topics, while the Chinese census only covered 20 topics. A full housing census was also undertaken in Malaysia. The Malaysian experience indicates that coverage errors appear to be positively related to the number of topics canvassed. The introduction of sampling could enlarge the scope of the census without increasing the enumerators workload. Neither the 1980 Malaysian nor the 1982 Chinese censuses made use of sampling in the enumeration phase. The Chinese census collected more information on fertility and mortality than did the Malaysian census. Information on number of children ever born and number surviving and births in 1981 for each woman by parity and for the whole household was collected in the Chinese census. In the Malaysian census the only information collected was on the number of children ever born and the number surviving. The 1970 and 1980 Malaysian censuses collected information on type of economic activity for a short reference period of 1 week and a long reference period of 12 months. The 1982 Chinese census, however, collected information on the usual status of economic activity, without specific mention of the length of the reference period. The labor utilization framework which could be used to tabulate data collected with the conventional labor force approach was shown to provide a more comprehensive picture of labor underutilization which tends to be the main problem of developing countries. - See more at: http://www.popline.org/node/348030#sthash.0Nhymrke.dpuf