2021 United Kingdom census

Census 2021
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General information
CountryUnited Kingdom
Authority
Websitecensus.gov.uk

The 2021 United Kingdom census is the 23rd official census of the United Kingdom. Beginning in 1801,[1] they have been recorded every 10 years. The 2021 censuses of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021, and the census of Scotland took place 364 days later on 20 March 2022.[2] The censuses were administered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in England and Wales, by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) in Northern Ireland,[3] and by the National Records of Scotland in Scotland. These were the first British censuses for which most of the data was gathered online.[4][5] Two of them went ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because the information obtained would assist government and public understanding of the pandemic's impact.[6] The census-taking in Scotland was postponed, and took place in 2022[7] because of the pandemic.[8]

The censuses in 2021 and 2022 follows on from Beyond 2011, a project by the UK Statistics Authority to assess the value, cost, and alternatives to a census in 2021. The project recommended a census in 2021, and amongst other organisations, suggested it be run online.[5]

Initial results for England and Wales were released on 28 June 2022. Results for Scotland were expected to be released in March 2023;[2] however this deadline was missed without explanation and in August 2023 National Records of Scotland announced that the initial results were to be released 14 September 2023.[9]

  1. ^ "The modern census - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Release plans: Our proposed plans for the release of Census 2021 data and analysis". ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  3. ^ "2021 Census". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  4. ^ "About the census". Census 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "The census and future provision of population statistics in England and Wales: Recommendation from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, and the government's response". Office for National Statistics. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. ^ Office for National Statistics, The census during the coronavirus pandemic Archived 1 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 30 January 2021
  7. ^ Phoutinane, Ketsuda (26 February 2022). "Scottish Census: What it is, what it means and how to complete once-a-decade survey". Daily Record. Reach plc. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Coronavirus: Census delayed by a year because of disease". BBC News. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Scotland's Census first outputs release date". National Records of Scotland website. National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 11 September 2023.