ONS is responsible for conducting a census in England and Wales every ten years. The most recent census of England and Wales took place on 27 March 2011.

The census benefits

A census counts everybody and describes society. The population’s characteristics are always changing.  A census collects and shares facts about society’s make-up. The population of England and Wales is made up of many jigsaw pieces: different ages, different sexes and different ethnic groups.  The census is the picture which shows how they are put together. Society is changing.  A census is one of the main ways of accurately measuring change across the whole population. By knowing how many people live within the borders of England and Wales, everyone can plan properly for the future.  The census provides a map of the population. The information will help to ensure that the local services that people rely on, such as transport, housing, schools and hospitals, can be provided where they are needed. The information helps central and local government ensure that all areas receive their slice of the funding cake when it comes to allocating billions of pounds in public funding over the next ten years.

Select the heading below to expand the sections.

Introduction

This resource provides census data and products to generate meaningful information for commissioners and policy makers. It brings together data from the 2001 and 2011 census as reports, datasets and baskets containing tables and charts.

Analysis by theme

Data and supporting tables, charts and maps can be found in the 'Datasets' and 'Baskets' sections towards the bottom of the page.

This resource provides information about a number of different subjects including; ethnic group, religion, unpaid care, household composition etc.  Analysis will be added as it becomes available. See 'useful links and tools' section for tables and tables within the 'Explore data' browse all available data. 

• 2011 Census (first release) Summary - Key highlights from the first release (July 2012) unrounded population data
• Essex Census Highlights
• Key Statistic tables - released 11th December 2012

 District level analysis of key statistics by subject

• Health and Unpaid Care
• Qualifications
• Religion

Data supporting district level analysis

Small level analysis

• Usual Resident Population by Wards - Highlights and supporting data, which are ward level collections of data (baskets) containing charts and maps, showing usual resident population information for each of the districts

Tools and Useful Links

• Key Statistics - link to tables on NOMIS -  Summary figures from the full range of data from the 2011 Census
• Quick Statistics - link to tables on NOMIS -  The Quick Statistics series generally provides information about a single census topic. The classifications used are usually the full versions with the most categories so provide the most detailed information available from the census about the topic.
• Detailed Characteristics - link to tables on NOMIS - Data on a wide range of different subjects and more than one characteristic e.g. age of carers, including population and household data
• Office of National Statistics Interactive Tools
• Finding Census data