A nationwide

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, commonly known as Census 1991, was conducted in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on Sunday 21 April 1991. This was the 19th UK census. ''Census 1991'' was organised by the

Office of Population Censuses and Surveys The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS), was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department. It was a forerunner and constituent, with the UK Central Statistical Of ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

, the

General Register Office for Scotland The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) ( gd, Oifis Choitcheann a' Chlàraidh na h-Alba) was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adop ...

and the Census Office for Northern Ireland.Census Dissemination Unit
Detailed results by region, council area, ward and

output area ONS codes are geocodes maintained by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics to represent a wide range of geographical areas of the UK, for use in tabulating census and other statistical data. These codes are also known as GSS codes, ...

are available from their respective websites. The cost of the census was estimated at £140m, or around £7 per household. 117,500 enumerators were employed to assist with collection of census forms in Great Britain.Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, General Register Office for Scotland (1992). 1991 Census Definitions Great Britain. London: HMSO. . The 1991 census was the first UK census to have a question on

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. In the 1991 UK census 94.65% of people reported themselves as being White British, White Irish or White Other with 5.35% of people reporting themselves as coming from other minority groups. Other new questions were on limiting long-term illness and term-time address for students. A question about

central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

replaced the previously used question on outside toilets. The census was also noted for a significant undercount of the population. Despite being compulsory, a total of 572,000 people failed to respond to both the census form and follow-up interviews, 220,000 of them being males aged 20 to 29. It has been suggested that part of the lack of response could be due to people attempting to avoid registration for the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...

. A total of 342 people were prosecuted for not completing their census returns.BBC News
Thousands wait for census forms
29 April 2001.

References

External links

*National Statistic
Earlier Census, 1801 - 1991
(England & Wales)
The UK Census of Population 1991
(Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography)

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

1991 censuses

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

{{UK-gov-stub

See also

References

External links