2021 Census: Safeguarded Household Microdata Sample (England and Wales)

The UK Census is generally conducted once every 10 years, and the 2021 censuses of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021. In Scotland, the decision was made to move the census to March 2022 because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (see SNs 9461 and 9462).

The censuses were administered by the&nbsp;<a title="Office for National Statistics" href="ons.gov.uk/census" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Office for National Statistics</a>&nbsp;(ONS), the&nbsp;<a title="Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency" href="nisra.gov.uk/statistics/census/2021-census" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency</a>&nbsp;(NISRA) and&nbsp;<a title="National Records of Scotland" href="scotlandscensus.gov.uk/about/scotlands-census-2022-general-report/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">National Records of Scotland</a>&nbsp;(NRS), respectively. </p><p>Census 2021 was the first census with a digital-first design, encouraging participants to respond online rather than on a paper questionnaire.