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 owing 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 owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. No census was carried out in Northern Ireland in 1931, but one was carried out in 1937.
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 1841 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 6 June 1851 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 30 March 1861 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 7 April 1871 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 2 April 1881 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 3 April 1891 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 5 April 1901 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 31 March 1911 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 2 April 1921 United Kingdom census – 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Unpublished censuses Under the 100-year closure rule established after the 1911 census was taken, only summary results for censuses after 1939though with significant statistical detailare published in the months 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.
1926 Northern Ireland Census – Sunday, 18 April: 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. 1931 United Kingdom census – 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.1931 Census The scheduled publication date for the Scottish returns is 1 January 2032 1937 Northern Ireland Census – Sunday, 28 February: Unlike the 1926 Northern Ireland census, the 1937 census records survive. (scheduled publication date 1 January 2038) 1941 United Kingdom Census – no census taken owing to World War II 1951 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 8 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2052) 1961 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 23 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2062) 1966 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 24 April mini-census using a ten per cent sample (scheduled publication date 1 January 2067) 1971 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 25 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2072) 1981 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 5 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2082) 1991 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 21 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2092) 2001 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 29 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2102) 2011 United Kingdom census – Sunday, 27 March (scheduled publication date 1 January 2112) 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses – carried out in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland only on Sunday, 21 March 2021 (scheduled publication date 1 January 2122). The census in Scotland was carried out on 20 March 2022 (scheduled publication date 1 January 2123).
See also 1911 census of Ireland
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