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Census Data (UK Data Service): Home

A quick guide to introduce you to accessing census data.

The service provides access to a wide range of economic and social data. Sources include surveys, longitudinal studies, business microdata, qualitative data and more. 

You can use the browse option to find specific data types. 

Below are some introductory videos on searching, registering and downloading data from the service. There are further resources and training materials available to help you make the best use of UK Data Service collections. Not sure how to do something? Check out the Data Services YouTube channel. 

The Census (UK) is undertaken every ten years by the Office of National Statistics (ONS)

Statistics from the UK censuses help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics and underpin funding allocation to provide public services. 

The UK Data Service holds and enables access to aggregate, boundary, flow and microdata from the last six censuses from 1961 through to 2011 and is supporting the government in providing access to the census data for 2021. And through Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM), provides access to census data from 1851-1911. Further details about the data available can be found here

New to using Census data? Check out this guide from the UK Data Service.

Can't find what you are looking for?

The UK Data Service recommends a number of alternatives sources of data providers. 

Our LibGuide on finding research datasets provides further guidance that may be helpful too. 

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