2021 Census: Aggregate Data

A census of population is held every ten years in the UK, in England and Wales it is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in Scotland by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). 

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the latest census was taken on Sunday 21st March 2021. Due to issues around COVID-19, the census in Scotland was held a year later on 28th June 2022.  

The census asks questions about you, your household and your home. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of our society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, doctors' surgeries and roads. 

Topics covered by the data released by the Census agencies include -  

Demography and migration, UK armed forces veterans, ethnicity, national identity, language, religion, labour market, housing, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, health, disability and unpaid care. 

The data in this series covers aggregate data at geographies from country level down to Output Area. Due to disclosure control (data can be blurred, changed or withheld to protect anonymity) not all datasets are available at all levels.