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 have only been two occasions where the census has not been decennial: There was no census in 1941 due to the Second World War; and a mini-census using a ten percent sample of the population was conducted on 24 April 1966. There are actually three separate censuses in the United Kingdom - in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, although they are often coordinated. From 1821-1911, the census included the whole of Ireland.
Previous censuses
Published censuses
The census records which have been published relate to the occupants of each household on the date 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
- National Registration Act 1939 - Friday, 29 September Second World War (Published 2 Nov 2015)
Unpublished censuses
Because the 100-year closure rule was established after the 1911 census, information in later censuses will not be released until the dates stated.
- United Kingdom Census 1921 - Sunday, 19 June (scheduled publication date 1 January 2022)
- United Kingdom Census 1931 - Sunday, 26 April (destroyed in a fire in 1942 which was not caused by enemy action and appears to have been an accident, although the Scottish Census for this year survived as it was stored in Edinburgh) [1]; the scheduled publication date was 1 January 2032
United Kingdom Census 1941- no census taken due to World War II.- United Kingdom Census 1951 - 8 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2052)
- United Kingdom Census 1961 - 23 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2062)
- United Kingdom Census 1966 - 24 April mini-census using a ten percent sample (publication date 1 January 2067)
- United Kingdom Census 1971 - 25 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2072)
- United Kingdom Census 1981 - 5 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2082)
- United Kingdom Census 1991 - 21 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2092)
- United Kingdom Census 2001 - 29 April (scheduled publication date 1 January 2102)
- United Kingdom Census 2011 - 27 March (scheduled publication date 1 January 2112)