Select Language
Reference and Further Information
Select Language
The census counts everyone in Scotland once every 10 years. It is Scotland's biggest statistics gathering exercise. Anonymised census results are a snapshot of the number and characteristics of people on census day. The figures are the only reliable measure of the entire population and they help shape everyone’s future as the basis for effective public services for the next decade.
The census is organised by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), headed by the Registrar General, and overseen by professional statisticians. GROS works with the census offices for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to conduct the census on the same day and to provide comparable census results.
The census is held every 10 years and 2011 marks 150 years of GROS’s responsibility for running it.
GROS started planning for the 2011 Census soon after Scotland’s last census in 2001. Scottish Government ministers published proposals for the 2011 Census in 2008. To support its planned approach to delivering the 2011 Census, GROS published an evidence paper.
2001 Census results are available on Scotland's Census Results Online (SCROL).
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
05 January 2009 |
Electronic Contact Facility open |
09 March 2009 |
Census Helpline open |
13 March 2009 |
Enumerators begin delivery of questionnaires |
28 March 2009 |
Delivery of questionnaires complete |
29 March 2009 |
Census rehearsal day |
06 April 2009 |
Enumerators begin follow-up of households who have not responded |
22 April 2009 |
Follow-up of households who have not responded ends |
13 June 2009 |
Electronic Contact Facility close |
26 June 2009 |
Census Helpline close |
More information about the post-enumeration Census Coverage Survey (CCS)
