![]() | This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. (January 2023) |
Census 2021 | ||
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General information | ||
Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
Authority |
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Website | census |
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]