title: Big microdata for population research.
abstract: This article describes an explosion in the availability of individual-level population data. By 2018, demographic researchers will have access to over 2 billion records of accessible microdata from over 100 countries, dating from 1703 to the present. Another 2 to 4 billion records will be available through restricted-access data enclaves. These new resources represent a new kind of data that will enable transformative research on demographic and economic change and the spatial organization of society.
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, 225 19th Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA, ruggles@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruggles
mesh_terms: D019352:Censuses; D003710:Demography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States