On 15 July 2025, the UK government commissioned the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to conduct a census of England and Wales in 2031.
Census 2031 will be a core component of the future population and migration statistics system. Building on the success of Census 2021, it will be designed to provide high-quality statistics that meet user needs in the early 2030s. It will also provide a strong foundation for meeting future population statistics needs across the decade, using the best available sources.
To design a census that meets the needs of society, we need to understand what data people and organisations need to support communities and collect the right evidence to inform decisions.
About the Census 2031 topic consultation
The Census 2031 topic consultation, which launched on 28 October 2025 and runs to 4 February 2026, provides you with an opportunity to help shape Census 2031 and future population statistics.
The topic consultation is part of wide-ranging engagement that will inform the ONS's recommendations for the content of the 2031 Census for England and Wales.
Alongside this topic consultation, we are also consulting on the harmonised standard for data collection on ethnicity. The purpose of the ethnicity consultation is to gather views on additional tick-box response options that may be required for the new standard. We expect the relevant census question to align to this standard in England and Wales.
More information can be found on the related ethnicity harmonisation consultation page. This consultation closes on 4 February 2026.
Complete the consultation
To find out more and complete the topic consultation, view our Census 2031 topic consultation page on Citizen Space.
You are invited to respond by the closing date of 4 February 2026.