Vision of Britain | History of the Census of Population

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head>  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5RQZ6X79');</script>  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <title> Vision of Britain | History of the Census of Population </title> <link rev="Headscape" href="https://headscape.co.uk/" title="Headscape Web design: strategy, usability, design, development, marketing." /> <meta name="description" content="A vision of Britain through time..." /> <meta name="keywords" content="Vision of Britain, University of Portsmouth" /> <meta name="version" content="v2.7.2" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="#"> <meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/basic.css" media="all" />  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/default.css" media="all" />  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/print.css" media="print" />  <style type="text/css" media="screen">   </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/default.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/validate.js"></script>  <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census" /> <style type="text/css"> .boxFull { overflow: hidden; padding: 18px 10px 15px 10px; } .boxFull .option { overflow: hidden; margin: 15px 5px 0px 5px; } .boxFull .label { width: 120px; padding: 0; margin: 0; } .boxFull .textField { width: 253px; margin: 0; } .boxFull #st { width: 239px; } .button { margin: 15px 5px 0px 0px; } </style> </head> <body class="tLanding uniquePageIdentifier" onload="document.text_search.st.focus();">  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5RQZ6X79" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <div id="header" class="row"> <div id="headerOverlay"> <div class="rowInner"> <img id="printLogo" src="/images/logoPrint.gif" alt="Vision of Britain logo" /> <a id="vobLogo" href="/">A vision of Britain through time</a> <p id="strapLine">A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.<br /> Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.</p> <a id="helpLink" href="/about">Help using this website</a> </div> </div> </div> <div id="navigation" class="row"> <ul class="rowInner"> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/place/">Places</a></li> <li><a href="/atlas/">Statistical atlas</a></li> <li><a href="/maps/">Historical maps</a></li> <li class="current"><a href="/census/">Census reports</a></li> <li><a href="/travellers/">Travel writing</a></li> <li><a href="/learning/">Learning zone</a></li> <li><a href="/data/">Data access</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="breadcrumbs" class="row"> <ul class="rowInner"> <li><a href="../">Home</a></li> <li><a href="#">Census Reports</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="page" class="row"> <div class="rowInner"> <div class="cols18"> <div class="content"> <h1>Census Reports</h1> <img src="../images/jumplinks/enumerator.jpg" width="247" height="169" class="imgRight" alt="census enumerator at work" /> <p class="pEm">Since 1801 the Census has created a uniquely detailed record of our changing communities. For data on your chosen town or village, search by place from our main <a href="../">home page</a>. This part of Vision of Britain is about the census itself, including:</p> <ul> <li>Listings of all reports published from 1801 to 1961, and all tables in those reports. Unless you ask, we list only reports and tables for which we hold data or text.</li> <li>The contents of selected tables, with headings and notes.</li> <li>Full text: Abstracts 1801-41, Preliminary Reports 1851-1961, and England & Wales General Reports 1871-1921.</li> </ul> <p>A list of all reports 1801-1961 is available <a href="all_censuses">here</a>. The census is now run by the <a href="https://www.statistics.gov.uk/census">Office for National Statistics</a> and <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/census">GRO Scotland</a>. Census data for individuals can only be accessed after 100 years, and are available from the <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census">National Archives</a>.</p> </div> <hr/> <div class="cols10"> <div class="timeline"> <h2>View census reports by year</h2> <p class="pEm">Clicking a date on the time line below will reveal links to all the census reports available within that period.</p> <div class="tlTabs"> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1801'">1801</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1811'">1811</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1821'">1821</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1831'">1831</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1841'">1841</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1851'">1851</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1861'">1861</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1871'">1871</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo""> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1881'">1881</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1891'">1891</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1901'">1901</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1911'">1911</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1921'">1921</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1931'">1931</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1939'">1939</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1951'">1951</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1961'">1961</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1966'">1966</a> </h2> </div> </div> <div class="tlDecade"> <div class="tlInfo"> <h2> <a href="#" onclick="window.location = '../../census/1971'">1971</a> </h2> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="cols8 lastCol"> <div class="boxFull"> <form name="text_search" action="../census/matches" method="post"> <h4 style="margin-top: 0px;">Search the full text of the census reports we hold</h4> <div class="option"> <label class="label" for="st">Placename, word:</label> <input name="search_type" type="hidden"> <input name="st" type="text" id="st" class="textField"/> </div> <div class="option"> <label class="label" for="first_year">First year:</label> <select name="first_year" class="textField" id="first_year"> <option selected="selected">1801</option> <option>1811</option> <option>1821</option> <option>1831</option> <option>1841</option> <option>1851</option> <option>1861</option> <option>1871</option> <option>1881</option> <option>1891</option> <option>1901</option> <option>1911</option> <option>1921</option> <option>1931</option> <option>1939</option> <option>1951</option> <option>1961</option> <option>1966</option> <option>1971</option> </select> </div> <div class="option"> <label class="label" for="last_year">Last year:</label> <select name="last_year" class="textField" id="last_year"> <option>1801</option> <option>1811</option> <option>1821</option> <option>1831</option> <option>1841</option> <option>1851</option> <option>1861</option> <option>1871</option> <option>1881</option> <option>1891</option> <option>1901</option> <option>1911</option> <option>1921</option> <option>1931</option> <option>1939</option> <option>1951</option> <option>1966</option> <option selected="selected">1971</option> </select> </div> <input id="submitbutton" style="float: right;" type="button" class="button" value="Search" onclick="submit()"/> </form> </div> </div> <div class="cols18"> <h4>Learn more about the census</h4> <p>The <a href="/census/Cen_Guide"> Guide to Census Reports: Great Britain 1801-1966</a> describes how census-taking has evolved, from working through parish priests in 1801 to introducing computers in the 1960s, and how coverage of 14 key topics has evolved.</p> <hr/> </div> </div> </div> <br class="clear" /> </div> <div id="footerAds" class="row"> <div class="rowInner"> <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1952517583355649" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1952517583355649" data-ad-slot="0896119656"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </div> <div id="footer" class="row"> <div class="rowInner"> <a href="https://www.jisc.ac.uk" id="footerLinkJ">JISC</a> <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk" id="footerLinkP">Portsmouth</a> <a href="#header" class="backToTop">Back to top</a> <ul> <li><a href="/about/credits">©2009-2024 University of Portsmouth and others</a></li> <li><a href="/about">About this site</a></li> <li><a href="/expertsearch">Expert search</a></li> 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Vision of Britain | History of the Census of Population