UK Census Timeline

William the Conqueror ordered a 'Great Survey' to find out who owned what over much of England and parts of Wales. This was completed completed in 1086 and compiled into what became known as the "Domesday Book".

However, it wasn't until the Census Act 1800 which enabled the first Census of England, Scotland and Wales to be undertaken that the census begun proper in the UK.

Since then the census has taken place every 10 years since 1801 – apart from 1941 due to WWII.

The 1841 census was the first British census which aimed to record details about every citizen making it a treasure trove for genealogists.

A register was taken in 1939 shortly after the outbreak of WWII. As it records many personal details of individuals, it has become an invaluable census substitute. Not covered by the 100-year rule it will be available online around 2016.

During December 1942, the 1931 census was destroyed by fire in storage in Hayes, Middlesex meaning that it is gone forever - and thereby increasing the value and importance of the 1939 register.

It's been difficult to get accurate figures for the census before 2011, but I found that the UK population increased by over 42 million between 1841 and 2011.

The data is as follows:
1841
England and Wales - 15,914,148
Scotland - 2,620,184
Northern Ireland - 1,648,945
Total - 20,183,277

2011
England and Wales - 56,075,912
Scotland -5,295,403
Northern Ireland - 1,810,863
Total - 63,182,178

As I wasn't able to access the references within the first two sources, I've linked to the sites I used - therefore we just have to trust that the data has been added to these sites without introduction of error.

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Sources:
POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND 1570-1931. 2014. POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND 1570-1931. [ONLINE] Available at: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/pop.html. [Accessed 21 November 2014].
Demographics of Northern Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2014. Demographics of Northern Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Northern_Ireland. [Accessed 21 November 2014].
UK Census - ONS . 2014. UK Census - ONS . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/uk-census/index.html. [Accessed 21 November 2014].