DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-8964-22
title: 2021 Census: Aggregate Data
title: 2021 Census of population: England, Wales, Northern Ireland
title: Aggregate data from the 2021 Census

description: &lt;p&gt;The 2021 UK Census was the 23rd official census of the United Kingdom. The UK Census is generally conducted once every 10 years, and the 2021 censuses of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021. In Scotland, the decision was made to move the census to March 2022 because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (see SNs 9461 and 9462). The censuses were administered by the &lt;a title="Office for National Statistics" href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Office for National Statistics&lt;/a&gt; (ONS), the &lt;a title="Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency" href="https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/census/2021-census" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency&lt;/a&gt; (NISRA) and &lt;a title="National Records of Scotland" href="https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/about/scotlands-census-2022-general-report/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;National Records of Scotland&lt;/a&gt; (NRS), respectively. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Census 2021 was the first census with a digital-first design, encouraging participants to respond online rather than on a paper questionnaire. Support was given to people who could not respond online, including paper questionnaires, telephone contact centres, field force support, and an extended collection period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Topics covered in the 2021 UK Census included:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;demography and migration&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;ethnic group, national identity, language and religion&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;labour market and travel to work&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;housing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;education&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;health, disability, and unpaid care&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Welsh and other languages&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;UK armed forces veterans&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sexual orientation and gender identity.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;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). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Topics covered by the data released by the Census agencies include -  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;