-
The census is older than the Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations, dating back to the Babylonians in 4000 BC.
-
The roots of census taking in England can be traced to the Domesday Book in 1086, and the Hundred Rolls of 1279.
-
The first official census was in 1801, but the 1841 census, run by the new registration service, is regarded as the first modern census.
-
Briefly outlines each census from 1801 to 2001.
The 2011 Census was the twenty-first full national census of the population, marking 210 years since the first census in modern times was carried out in Great Britain.
This section covers the origins of the census in the ancient world and describes the history of its development to the present day.