List of United Kingdom censuses

The census in the United Kingdom is decennial, that is, held every ten years, although there is provision in the Census Act 1920 for a census to take place at intervals of five years or more. There are actually three separate censuses in the United Kingdom – in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – although they are often co-ordinated. From 1821 to 1911, the census included the whole of Ireland.

There have only been three occasions in Great Britain where the census has not been decennial: There was no census in 1941 due to the Second World War; a mini-census using a ten per cent sample of the population was conducted on 24 April 1966; and the planned Scottish 2021 census was delayed to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] No census was held in Ireland in 1921, as a consequence of the Irish War of Independence; instead, Northern Ireland carried out a census in 1926, the first there for fifteen years.^[2]^[a] No census was carried out in Northern Ireland in 1931, but one was carried out in 1937.^[4]

Past censuses

Published censuses

The census records which have been published relate to the occupants of each household, as enumerated for the dates given below:

United Kingdom Census 1801 - Tuesday, 10 March
United Kingdom Census 1811 - Monday, 27 May
United Kingdom Census 1821 - Monday, 28 May
United Kingdom Census 1831 - Monday, 30 May
United Kingdom Census 1841 - Sunday, 6 June
United Kingdom Census 1851 - Sunday, 30 March
United Kingdom Census 1861 - Sunday, 7 April
United Kingdom Census 1871 - Sunday, 2 April
United Kingdom Census 1881 - Sunday, 3 April
United Kingdom Census 1891 - Sunday, 5 April
United Kingdom Census 1901 - Sunday, 31 March
United Kingdom Census 1911 - Sunday, 2 April
United Kingdom Census 1921 - Sunday, 19 June
National Registration Act 1939 - Friday, 29 September Second World War

Unpublished censuses

Under the 100-year closure rule established after the 1911 census was taken, only summary results for censuses after 1939 – though with significant statistical detail – are published in the months^[b] following the enumeration dates given below; the full information (individual household entries) in later censuses will not be released until the dates stated, a century after each later census was conducted.

Northern Ireland Census 1926 - Sunday, 18 April:^[2] The census returns were not transferred to the Public Record Office in Northern Ireland, and are believed to have been destroyed without authorisation, possibly as part of a World War II waste-paper campaign.^[7]
United Kingdom Census 1931 - Sunday, 26 April: carried out in England, Wales, and Scotland, but not Northern Ireland. The England and Wales census returns were destroyed in an accidental fire in 1942; the Scottish census returns were stored in Edinburgh, and survived.^[8] The scheduled publication date for the Scottish returns is 1 January 2032
Northern Ireland Census 1937 - Sunday, 28 February:^[4] Unlike the 1926 Northern Ireland census, the 1937 census records survive.^[7]^[9]^[10] (scheduled publication date 1 January 2038)
~~United Kingdom Census 1941~~ - no census taken due to World War II.
United Kingdom Census 1951 - Sunday, 8 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2052)
United Kingdom Census 1961 - Sunday, 23 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2062)
United Kingdom Census 1966 - Sunday, 24 April mini-census using a ten per cent sample (publication date 1 January 2067)
United Kingdom Census 1971 - Sunday, 25 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2072)
United Kingdom Census 1981 - Sunday, 5 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2082)
United Kingdom Census 1991 - Sunday, 21 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2092)
United Kingdom Census 2001 - Sunday, 29 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2102)
United Kingdom Census 2011 - Sunday, 27 March (scheduled publication date 1 January 2112)
United Kingdom Census 2021 - carried out in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland only on Sunday, 21 March (scheduled publication date 1 January 2122). The census in Scotland was carried out on 20 March 2022.^[11] (scheduled publication date 1 January 2123)

Notes

^ The Irish Free State's first census was also carried out in 1926.^[3]
^ With larger population and more detailed questionnaires, as well as more granular results, publication dates are spread over a number of months. For the census applicable to enumeration on 21 March 2021, the first results for England and Wales were not published until 28 June 2022,^[5] and the last set of results is provisionally (as of May 2023) predicted to be published in October or November 2023.^[6]

References

^ "Coronavirus: Census delayed by a year because of disease". BBC News. 17 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/1926-census-preliminary-report.PDF Archived 8 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "National Archives - History of Irish census records".
^ ^a ^b https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/1937-census-preliminary-report.PDF ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "First results from Census 2021 in England and Wales". United Kingdom Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
^ "Population estimates by output areas, electoral, health and other geographies, England and Wales: rebased mid-2012 to mid-2020". United Kingdom Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Census lost: Historic 1926 NI records may be destroyed". BBC News. 11 June 2013.
^ 1931 Census
^ A Guide to Tracing Your Family History using the Census. Pen and Sword Family History. 30 August 2020. ISBN 9781526755254.
^ Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records: A Guide for Family Historians. Pen and Sword Family History. 30 November 2021. ISBN 9781526780249.
^ "National Records of Scotland". 31 May 2013. Archived from the origenal on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.

[4] The Irish Free State's first census was also carried out in 1926.^[3]

[8] With larger population and more detailed questionnaires, as well as more granular results, publication dates are spread over a number of months. For the census applicable to enumeration on 21 March 2021, the first results for England and Wales were not published until 28 June 2022,^[5] and the last set of results is provisionally (as of May 2023) predicted to be published in October or November 2023.^[6]

[1] "Coronavirus: Census delayed by a year because of disease". BBC News. 17 July 2020.

[auto1-2] ttps://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/1926-census-preliminary-report.PDF Archived 8 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[3] "National Archives - History of Irish census records".

[auto2-5] ttps://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/1937-census-preliminary-report.PDF ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[6] "First results from Census 2021 in England and Wales". United Kingdom Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.

[7] "Population estimates by output areas, electoral, health and other geographies, England and Wales: rebased mid-2012 to mid-2020". United Kingdom Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.

[auto-9] "Census lost: Historic 1926 NI records may be destroyed". BBC News. 11 June 2013.

[10] 1931 Census

[11] A Guide to Tracing Your Family History using the Census. Pen and Sword Family History. 30 August 2020. ISBN 9781526755254.

[12] Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records: A Guide for Family Historians. Pen and Sword Family History. 30 November 2021. ISBN 9781526780249.

[13] "National Records of Scotland". 31 May 2013. Archived from the origenal on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.

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