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Quick guide |
Historical census data
If you are not a student or member of staff in higher or further education in the UK
If you are a student or member of staff in higher or further education in the UK
The most restricted data
Registration for access to data
Some basics you need to consider before using census data
Census.ac.uk data
What other resources might be useful?
This is an overview covering eligibility for access to data through
Census.ac.uk, how this
can be done and which resources are available. There are links to further information where relevant.
Historical census data
Census data pre 1971 are not available via Census.ac.uk, but for 1881, 1891 and 1901 record-level data you
should refer to the
National Archives
web site. Records for 1911 are available online from
1911census.co.uk.
The
Vision of Britain
web site also provides a wealth of data covering the period from 1801 to 1961. Other important resources can be
found at the
Collection of Historical and Contemporary Census Data
and
History Data Service.
For more information see the
Historical and genealogical census resources
guide.
If you are not a student or member of staff in higher or further education in the UK
If you are not a student or member of staff in a UK higher or further education institution you will not be
able to access census data through
Census.ac.uk.
However, there are many other resources that may be available to you and you should see the
Modern Census Data
or the
Historical and genealogical resources
guides. A search on ‘census’ at the
Intute: Social Sciences
web site may also provide useful data.
If you require census data for commercial use then you should contact the
Office for National Statistics
(ONS), which provides support for such use. In addition commercial use of the Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs) is
managed by the
Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research
(CCSR).
If you are a student or member of staff in higher or further education in the UK
If you are a student or member of staff in a UK higher or further education institution you will be able to
access most data.
The most restricted data
To obtain access to longitudinal microdata there is a process of direct application for UK academics
to the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support
(CeLSIUS) for England and Wales, the
Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland
(LSCS) for Scotland and the
Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study Research Support Unit
(NILS-RSU) for Northern Ireland.
In the case of the England and Wales LS, non-academic users and academic users from outside the UK should approach the
LS Unit at ONS
directly.
Registration for access to data
For access to online data - which do not include longitudinal microdata -
registration
is required through Census.ac.uk. Anyone who has not yet registered will
need to do so before attempting to access any data.
Some basics you need to consider before using census data
Before using the census data you should ensure that the census covers the right topics for you.
Questions and definitions often change between censuses. Information is available about
questions,
topics,
outputs,
output classifications and definitions
for the 2001 census. The Census.ac.uk information guide to
Census questions,
forms and definitions will also help.
It is important to remember that UK censuses do not include questions about income. The non-census
resources of the
Economic and Social Data Service
(ESDS) and
Neighbourhood Statistics
may be more relevant.
You may need to do some initial work to establish the geographical areas in which you are interested if
you wish to use boundary data and are unfamiliar with the complex UK census and administrative geographies.
There is an
ONS Beginner’s Guide to UK Geography
and detailed information about census and other geographies is available from
Geo-Refer.
If you are working with a large number of postcodes or wish to combine geographically referenced
data between geographies or over time the
GeoConvert
service will be of interest.
Census.ac.uk data
Census.ac.uk provides access, following registration, to online resources covering:
What other resources might be useful?
The following may be useful:
- SURPOP for 1981 and 1991 census data modelled for 200 m x 200 m grid cells
- The Linking Censuses through Time interface which provides access to data from the 1971, 1981 and 1991 Censuses of Population for Great Britain
- Directories linking census data to postcode and administrative geographies from UKBORDERS and the GeoConvert service
- Grid square Agricultural census data from EDINA