FOLK is an online analysis and retrieval system developed for the 1801 census of Norway, which is machine readable in a full-text and a coded version, each with approximately 1,000,000 records on individuals. The main advantage of the system is speed. FOLK consists of several parts:- A fast program for statistical analysis of the simple kind. Cross tabulations can be done in 1/16 of the time used by SPSS.- An interface to statistical and graphical packages for more complicated analysis.- A retrieval system for finding subsets of the data base. The subset can be anything from a single person to a region. Information from the coded and the full text version can be used for subtracting individuals.- A recoding system for recoding the coded version using a simple semantic analysis of the full-text version.- A fully computerized record linkage system. Information from other sources can be automatically added to the records on the individuals in the census.