Census

The 2001 Census of Population was held on 29 April 2001.

The Census is a count of all people and households in the UK. It has a long history – since 1801 there has been a Census every ten years except in 1941, during the Second World War.

The Census is the only survey which provides a detailed picture of the entire population, and is unique because it covers everyone at the same time and asks the same core questions everywhere, making it easy to compare different parts of the country.

Why are the results important?

Census results are very important as they provide comprehensive details, on the same basis, for many geographical levels: local authorities, health authorities, parliamentary constituencies, urban and rural areas, regions, wards and census output areas (very small areas with about 125 households).

The results allow central and local government, health authorities and many other organisations to plan and target their services. As an overview they cover:

Population (an accurate count of the population assists in the allocation of grants and planning services)
Health (information on age and socio-economic make up of the population and more specifically on general health, long-term illness and carers enables the planning of health and social services)
Housing (information on housing and its occupants allows the identification of inadequate accommodation, and information about the way we live as households identifies the need for new housing)
Employment (identification of how many people work in different occupations and industries helps government and businesses to plan jobs and training policies, and to make informed investment decisions)
Transport (information on travel to and from work, and on the availability of cars, contributes to the understanding of pressures on transport systems and to the planning of roads and public transport)
Ethnic Group (information on ethnic groups helps us to allocate resources and plan programmes to take account of the needs of minority groups)