Census
The home for census data for all parts of the UK
Statistics from the UK censuses help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics and underpin funding allocation to provide public services.
The UK Data Service holds and enables access to aggregate, boundary, flow and microdata from the last seven censuses from 1961 through to 2021/22. Also through Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM), we provide access to census data from 1851-1911.
Census 2021
Data impact blogs
A new Data Explorer, a new use for DotStat
2024 Westminster Parliamentary constituency data released
Scottish census 2022 data at the UK Data Service
The 2021 Census, the pandemic, and journeys to work – Part 2
The 2021 Census, the pandemic, and journeys to work – Part 1
Why run a census in the middle of a pandemic?
Aggregate census data and the UK Data Service
News
Call for papers: UK Census User Conference 2025
Census 2021 microdata for England and Wales released
Census 2021 data on gender identity and sexual orientation released for the first time
Second phase of Northern Ireland census data released
New Census 2021 data released for England and Wales
Further Northern Ireland Census data released
First release of Census 2021 data for England and Wales
First release of the Census 2021 for Northern Ireland
See our census explainers for more information on the migration and deprivation data.
Supporting documentation and additional datasets
Read census explainers for Census 2021 variables.
Census boundary data supporting geographic datasets – lookups, population weighted centroids.
Census 1961 – 2011
The UK Data Service provide access to a large number of census datasets. The collection is being expanded as we add data from new censuses, and also as we make available new datasets from older censuses.
The datasets are broadly divided by the type of data: aggregate data (the most commonly used data, the numbers of people with certain characteristics), flow data (a form of aggregate data about people moving between locations), microdata (samples of individual records, with identifying variables removed), and boundary data (allowing maps to be drawn and other forms of spatial analysis to be conducted).
What is census aggregate data?
These data are outputs from the UK Census of Population, they are anonymised, grouped into geographical areas and put into tables of themes or to answer specific questions. They are what most people think of when they are looking for ‘census data’.
An example of this might be ‘the number of people aged 60, resident in Liverpool in 2021’ or ‘males, aged 20-24 living in Scotland who speak Gaelic in 2001.
The UK Data Service holds census aggregate data from 1971 to 2021/22 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland held their census in 2021, Scotland delayed until 2022 due to worries about Covid).
Obtaining census aggregate data
The UK Data Service provides web-based interfaces that enable users to access and extract data from the aggregate statistics outputs from the 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021/22 Censuses, together with a range of associated datasets and services.
If you want Census data for whole tables of data for large sets of geographies such as ‘all the Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies of England’ or ‘every local government district in Northern Ireland’, especially at very small geographical areas, then we recommend UK Data Service CKAN.
If you want to delve into the data for a specific area, search cross censuses from 1971 to 2022, re-arrange tables and make charts then we can recommend UK Data Service Data Explorer.
You can also access 2001 and 2011 English and Welsh Census aggregate data in InFuse. InFuse is designed to guide users in selecting census aggregate data relating to combinations of characteristics and areas of interest to them.
Mapping 2011 Census microdata using R guide
One of the advantages of using census microdata is that users can derive bespoke variables unavailable in census tables.
The UK Data Service has produced a guide to show the strength of using census microdata for a variety of research purposes via a worked example taken from real-life research.
View our guide Mapping 2011 Census Microdata using R (PDF).
Census 1851 – 1911
The UK Data Service also provides access to individual level historic
census records that have been released under the ‘hundred year rule’;
these data are supported by the I-CeM project.
Census explainers
The UK Data Service has written a number of ‘explainer’ documents, which
describe some of the questions asked in the census, how the resulting
data are used to produce outputs, and things that you need to know about
these outputs in order to interpret them effectively.
As well as exploring questions asked in the census – both those which
were newly introduced in the 2021/22 Censuses, and some longer standing
ones – we also look at some of the processes involved in taking the
census and ensuring individual’s data is protected, and key ideas in
understanding the results.
We will publish these explainers in this section over the next few weeks.
Second address in the 2021/22 Census
Language in the 2021/22 Census
National identity in the 2021/22 Census
Ethnicity in the 2021/22 Census
Internal migration in the 2021/22 Census
Country of birth in the 2021/22 Census
Age and year of arrival in the UK in the 2021/22 Census
Veteran status
Religion in the 2021/22 Census
Passports held in the 2021/22 Census
Census explainer: sexual orientation and gender identity questions
Resources
Forms, definitions and websites
Does the census cover the right topics for you?
The census in all UK countries has been undertaken in a consistent manner. However, there are differences in some of the questions asked, processing, and detailed methodology.
Questions and definitions often change between censuses. You can access the census forms including the 2021 Census, census definitions, and the census agencies websites for further information.
Use of census data
Find out what others have done with census data
Below are links to analyses of census data on a variety of topics, including migration and demography, ethnicity and national identity, health, housing, the labour market, language, religion, and unpaid care.
UK Data Service case studies
See case studies related to the census.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2011 Census analysis
Detailed analyses of census data on a variety of topics.
Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)
Briefing documents on the Dynamics of Diversity series evidence from the 2011 Census.
Migration Observatory
The Migration Observatory is making migration-related 2011 Census data available through a suite of outputs.
Mapping census data in QGIS
Mapping census data in QGIS guide
QGIS is an open source mapping package which can be downloaded for free – it has a good range of functionality and is straightforward to use.
It can take census data for a given set of geographic areas (such as local authorities, wards or super output areas) and boundary data for the same set of areas and map the data.
The UK Data Service has produced a guide showing how you can map census data using the QGIS package.
View our guide Mapping Census data in QGIS (PDF).
Other information
Further reading
UK census geography
ONS Census Geography web pages
Geo-Refer (2007) Geographical referencing learning resources
Rees P., Martin D.M. and Williamson P. (2002) The census data system, Chichester: Wiley.
Stillwell, J. (ed.) (2018) The Routledge Handbook of Census Resources, Methods and Applications Unlocking the UK 2011 Census, ISBN 9780367660031, Routledge.
Handling spatial data and GIS
Longley P.A., Goodchild M.F., Maguire D.J. and Rhind D.W. (2001), Geographic information systems and science, Chichester: Wiley.
Martin, D. (1996) Geographic information systems: socioeconomic applications, London: Routledge.
Monmonier, M. (1996) How to lie with maps, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Walford, N. (2002) Geographical data: characteristics and sources, Chichester: Wiley.