History of the Census
4,000 BC
3,800 BC
Around 4,000 BC the Chinese
held censuses to plan their
armies and collect taxes
2,000 BC
500 BC
One of the earliest censuses
recorded was taken in 500BC
by the Persian
Empire’s
military for
purposes of
issuing land
grants and
taxation
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The Roman census, carried out
every 5 years required each
man to return to his place of
origin to be taxed. And it was
of course, such a Census Order
by Caesar Augustus which
brought Joseph and Mary to
Bethlehem when Jesus was born
1666 1703 1749 1790 1801
0 BC
1086
The first thorough survey of England
was done in 1086 when William the
Conqueror ordered a detailed list of
all land and property. Now known as
the Domesday Book, this document
provides a remarkable picture of life in
Britain at that time
1600
In the 1500 and 1600s,
bishops had to count the
number of families in
their diocese
No census was held in 1941
because of the Second World
War, but a “mini-census”
was held in 1939 so that
everybody could be issued
with a National Identity
Card. This was held on
Friday 29th September 1939
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Quebec completed
a census in 1666,
followed by...
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The Egyptians conducted a census
in 2500BC to assess the labour force
available for the planning and
building of the pyramids and for
sharing out the land after the
annual flooding of the Nile
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The first known censuses were taken
by the Babylonians nearly 6000
years ago in 3800BC. Records
suggest it was taken every six or
seven years and
counted the number
of people, livestock,
quantities of butter, milk and honey, wool
and vegetables
Queen Victoria and her
census questionnaire
General
Register Office
established.
Thomas Lister
became the
first Registrar
General
1821
1891 was the first time a Welsh
Language question was asked
1841
1837
1821 was the first to
analyse population by age
In 1798, Thomas Malthus
published his famous
essay, ‘Principle of
Population’. He believed
that Britain would soon
have more people than it
was able to feed, leading
to famine, disease and
other disasters
Scared by Malthus’
prediction, Parliament
passed the Census Act
in 1800 and the first
official census took
place on 10 March
1801. In Ireland, the
first modern census
was taken in 1821
Florence Nightingale
1891
1901
The 1841 Census was the first to give
each head of household a form to fill in
on a certain day. This still forms the
basis of the system we use today. It
was also the first time a Census Test
was conducted
1911
1920 - Census Act
passed and
still in place
today
In 1911, punch cards
and mechanical
sorting and counting
machines were used
for the first time
1931
1931 saw six public
broadcasts by the
BBC via wireless to
explain the purpose
of the census. This
included a broadcast from the
RG giving
advice on
how to
complete
the form
1941
1951
In 1961 an electronic computer
was used for the first time to
process the census results. It
took 5½ years to produce the
full set of statistics
1961
Before the 1951 Census, women were
asked to be more honest about their age.
Many women felt that questions relating
to age were of a too personal nature.
Problem pages in magazines were flooded
with queries from distraught women, fearful
that their true age would become public
knowledge
1971
In 1981 public
concerns
regarding data
protection led
to a study by
the British
Computer
Society about
the security
arrangements
Post back was introduced in 2001
and data was made publicly
available through electronic media
and via the National Statistics
website
1991
1981
1971 - income
question
considered
and OS maps
issued to
enumerators
Ethnicity
question
included on
the form
2011
In 2011 respondents
will be able to
complete the
census on the
internet