While the Ottoman Empire had population records prior to the 1830s, it was only in 1831 that the Office of Population Registers fund (Ceride-i Nüfus Nezareti) was founded. The Office decentralized in 1839 to draw more accurate data. Registrars, inspectors, and population officials were appointed to the provinces and smaller administrative districts. They recorded births and deaths periodically and compared lists indicating the population in each district. These records were not a total count of the population. Rather, they were based on what is known as “head of household”. Only the ages, occupation, and property of the male family members only were counted.