The headings of population columns consist of following parts:
- the reference (not for countries and administrative divisions)
- the type of investigation
- the date of investigation
- an optional suffix
The meaning of abbreviations in >> status columns and >> column headings.
The status of towns and administrative divisions (like 'state' or 'city') is abbreviated as follows:
| Abbr. | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AArea | autonomous area |
| ACity | autonomous city |
| ACnty | autonomous county |
| ADist | autonomous district |
| Aggl | agglomeration |
| AProv | autonomous province |
| Area | area |
| AReg | autonomous region |
| ARep | autonomous republic |
| Arr | arrondissement |
| ASett | autonomous settlement |
| Atoll | atoll |
| Bez | county |
| Bor | borough |
| CAdm | area administered by the central government |
| Cant | canton |
| Cap | capital |
| CcA | council area |
| CDist | city / metropolitan district |
| City | city |
| CityCR | city with county rights |
| Cntry | country |
| Cnty | county |
| Com | commune, municipality |
| Congl | conglomeration |
| CpDst | capital district |
| Ct | cantonment |
| CW | commonwealth |
| DCA | district council area |
| Dep | department |
| DepT | dependent territory |
| Dist | district |
| Div | division |
| Emir | emirate |
| FDist | federal district |
| Fed Rep | federal republic |
| FSt | federal state |
| FTerr | federal territory |
| Gov | governorate |
| GrDch | Grand Duchy |
| HCant | half canton |
| Inc | incorporated area |
| Indep | independent country |
| Isl | island |
| Kingd | Kingdom |
| Kom | county |
| LGA | local government area |
| MC | municipal council |
| MCnty | metropolitan county |
| Mkt | market town |
| MMun | metropolitan municipality |
| MProv | municipal province |
| Mun | municipality |
| New Town | new town |
| Par | parish |
| Pre | prefecture |
| Prov | province |
| Quart | quarter |
| RC | rural city / commune |
| RCA | regional council area |
| Reg | region |
| Rep | republic |
| RSett | rural settlement |
| SD | statistical district / division |
| Sett | settlement |
| Sh | shire |
| SSD | statistical subdivision |
| St | state |
| Stat | station |
| SubDist | subdistrict |
| Terr | territory |
| Town | town |
| Trib | tribal area / agency |
| Tshp | township |
| UA | urban area |
| UC | urban council |
| UCom | urban commune |
| UDistr | urban district |
| UGov | unified/consolidated government |
| Uninc | unincorporated area |
| UrbC | urban center |
| USett | urban settlement |
| UTerr | union territory |
| Vill | village |
| Voi | voivodship (province) |
| Ward | ward |
| Zone | zone |
The headings of population columns consist of following parts:
The reference indicates the area referred by the population figures (e.g., a town, a municipality or an agglomeration).
| Abbr. | Meaning |
|---|---|
| * | varying reference |
| ? | uncertain reference |
| A | agglomeration |
| AC | agglomeration complex |
| C | city / commune |
| CD | district of a city |
| CU | urban population of city |
| M | commune / municipio |
| MU | urban population of commune / municipio |
| P | province, federal state etc. |
| UA | urban area |
The investigation indicates how the population were investigated (e.g., by a census or an estimation).
| Abbr. | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A (hect) | area (in hectare) |
| A (km²) | area (in square km) |
| A-L (hect) | land area (in hectare) |
| A-L (km²) | land area (in square km) |
| A-L (m²) | land area (in square m) |
| C | census |
| C? | census (may be estimate) |
| Ca | census (adjusted) |
| Cf | census (final) |
| Cfa | census (final, adjusted) |
| CI | intermediate census |
| Cp | census (provisional) |
| Cpa | census (provisional, adjusted) |
| E | estimate |
| E~ | estimate (rough) |
| Ef | estimate (final) |
| Ep | estimate (provisional) |
| P | projection |
| R | register-based |
| UE | uninofficial estimate |
| UE-C | computation based on census results |
| UE-E | computation based on estimates |
| UE-P | computation based on projections |
The suffix gives additional information (e.g., de jure or de facto population).
| Abbr. | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ? | uncertain date |
| c | enumerated population |
| f | de facto |
| j | de jure |
| n | non-agricultural population |
| r | usually resident population |