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Census 2021
How the population changed where you live: Census 2021
How your area has changed in 10 years: Census 2021
Interactive Census 2021 Maps
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Create a custom dataset
The census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales.
The census asks questions about you, your household and your home. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of our society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, doctors' surgeries and roads.
Get more information about what ONS plan to publish in the first year of the analysis programme.
Get more information about the new functionality and ONS plans to release multivariate data.
The latest census was conducted in 2021, with ONS releasing data in a phased approach.
Univariate data:
Population and households (28th June 2022)
Demography and migration (2nd November 2022)
UK armed forces veterans (10th November 2022)
Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion (29th November 2022)
Labour market and travel to work (8th December 2022)
Housing (5th January 2023)
Sexual orientation and gender identity (6th January 2023)
Education (10th January 2023)
Health, disability and unpaid care (19th January 2023)
Sexual orientation and gender identity (combining multiple variables) (4th April 2023)
UK armed forces veterans in Wirral (LG Inform using Census 2021 data: April 2023)
Families in England and Wales: Census 2021 (May 2021)
Alternative population bases
Alternative population bases are the different geographical locations where individuals could have been counted for Census 2021. Examples include workplace, workday and out-of-term populations.
Small populations
Small populations are groups that are defined by their cultural background, including characteristics such as ethnic group, country of birth, religion and national identity. Examples of small populations that we are committed to producing datasets about include Cornish, Kashmiri, Nepali, Sikh, Ravidassia and Jain.
Detailed migration data
Detailed migration statistics provide the characteristics of people or households who have moved within the UK or from another country into the UK during the year before the census.
Origin-destination data or 'flow' data
Origin-destination data describes the movement of people from one location to another. Planned types of origin-destination data from Census 2021 include:
- migration flow data
- workplace flow data
- second address flow data
- student flow data
These datasets will be classified as either public, safeguard or secure. Get more details about ONS's plans, including how you can access origin-destination data.
Microdata samples
Microdata are samples of anonymised records for individuals and households, which include a selection of associated census characteristics. Microdata samples will be classified in three ways: public, safeguarded or secure.
Read more details about ONS's plans including how you can access microdata samples.
UK census data
Censuses took place in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland in March 2021. Scotland's census took place in March 2022. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) are working closely with UK census offices to publish comparable data from across the UK.
Additional Content:
Census data is now also available using our local insight tool.
To see the interactive maps go to Wirral Local Insight and look for Census in the Data options
This report provides an overview of the "Census 2021 rounded population and household estimates for local authorities in England and Wales, by sex and five-year age" as published by the Office for National Statistics, with a particular focus on Wirral.
Local authority comparison tool, letting you compare estimates for local authorities with other sources of data (Excel download)