Dave RawnsleyWe’re approaching the release of 2021 census data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK Data Service also provides access to the previous UK censuses, back to 1971. In our ongoing census series, Dave Rawnsley explores how question design and definitions give a unique picture of the changing social and geographic nature of the UK’s population across the past fifty years.
The UK Census remains the single most comprehensive uk rcs data source of data on the UK population. It provides detailed insight into demographic and socio-economic population characteristics, from household formations, journeys to work, detailed ethnicity, and so on.
The UK Data Service offers access to census aggregate data from 1971 to 2011, with data from the 2021 census being added soon after release this year. All the census datasets are open data, meaning that it’s free to access without registration.
Our Aggregate Data Unit is currently developing a new census data platform, which will offer users a more modern interface and increase the ease and speed of census data access. This work has involved huge efforts in migrating fifty years’ worth of census data.
As part of this work, we’ve been doing a deep dive into the data definitions, so we can be sure the information we make available is appropriately categorised and contextualised.