Improving Migration and Population Statistics (archive material)
Producing population and migration statistics is increasingly challenging. The population structure is changing rapidly as a result of changes in society which include increased mobility and different living arrangements. These changes have coincided with a drive for 'evidence-based policy' which demands improvements in accuracy, timeliness and for statistics at smaller levels of geography. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recognises that the ability to successfully measure the population is key to its reputation.
Through the Improving Migration and Population Statistics (IMPS) Project, ONS will be making a substantial investment to improve migration and population statistics. This is in addition to the continuous ongoing work carried out as part of the annual round. The IMPS project is primarily research based, allowing ONS to further investigate other possible ways to improve the population statistics and establish where it is possible to introduce changes to sources and methods that will improve the quality of the population statistics.
