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 1981 Venezuela de jure census collected data through face-to-face interviews on subjects of housing, household demographics, employment for those 12 and older, education, migration, and fertility for women 12 and older. Information was collected with a single enumeration form.

The census day was October 21, 1981. People living in areas with 1000 or more inhabitants were interviewed on the census day, but the enumeration of areas with smaller populations occurred from October 19 to November 20.

A 10% sample of households (1,441,266 individuals) is available through IPUMS International at the University of Minnesota. Dwellings from the original sample are interpreted by IPUMS as households. Refer to the IPUMS website for guidelines on citing database versions.