Censuses provide population numbers, household or family size and composition, and information on sex and age distribution. They often include other demographic, economic and health-related topics as well. The 2004 Sierra Leone de facto census collected data through face-to-face interviews on the subjects of housing, household demographics, employment for those 10 and older, agriculture, education, household deaths, fertility for women 10 and older, and disability. The census day was December 4, 2004 and fieldwork was carried out during the first two weeks of December.

A 10% sample of households from the census (494,298 individuals) is available through IPUMS International at the University of Minnesota. Dwellings and vacant units are not identified in the microdata sample. Refer to the IPUMS website for guidelines on citing database versions.