In the first census—conducted on 7 May 1911—there were a total of 1,497 Europeans; 39 Asiatics and an estimated 820,000 black Africans. Black Africans were not counted in the six censuses conducted in 1911, 1921, 1931, 1946, 1951 and 1956, prior to independence, but their population was estimated. By 1956, there were 65,277 Europeans, 5,450 Asiatics, 5,450 coloureds and an estimated 2,100,000 black Africans.