A comparison of questions asked in the 2021 and 2022 UK censuses

This article describes the differences between the questions and response options used in the censuses across the UK in 2021 and 2022.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) was responsible for Census 2021 in England and Wales, National Records of Scotland (NRS) was responsible for Census 2022 in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) was responsible for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland. In preparing for the censuses, the three organisations recognised that each country has its own user and respondent needs. However, they aimed for the harmonisation of census questions and topics where possible, so they could produce UK-wide statistics that were consistent and comparable.

This article describes how the questions asked in the 2021 and 2022 censuses varied across the UK. It also states where questions were not included in all three censuses. Links to questionnaires and question development publications can be found in Section 6: Census questionnaires and further information.

We will focus on the differences in questions and response options. Where relevant, differences between paper and online questionnaires are noted, but other differences are not included - for example, questions that were rephrased or split into multiple stages online, but had the same response options. Design differences in how information was presented online or on paper, or additional information provided online, are not included. Unless otherwise noted, the question wording is taken from the paper questionnaires.

This article does not provide a description of comparability between the variables produced by the 2021 and 2022 censuses. This comparability information can be found in our Census 2021 dictionary for England and Wales. It also does not describe general differences in the questionnaires, such as the different dates for Census Day, or the information provided alongside census questions. Similarly, it does not include all variations in routing based on previous responses – for example, because of the respondent’s age or whether they were a student.

Demography and migration

Name, date of birth and sex

The name question was the same across the UK. In England and Wales, respondents were asked to supply their middle name(s) online and on the paper questionnaire. In Northern Ireland middle name(s) were only requested online.

The date of birth and sex questions were the same across the UK.

Marital and civil partnership status

The question was the same across the UK, although in Northern Ireland the census date was not included and the wording was slightly different. The response options were the same across the UK, with some variation in wording.

In England and Wales, a second question for anyone who was, or had been, married or in a civil partnership asked whether their spouse or partner was of the same sex or the opposite sex.

Second address

This question was only asked in England and Wales.

Student or schoolchild status and term-time address

The same question was asked across the UK. The response options were the same, but an extra option was included in England and Wales to allow the respondent to state that the address given as their second address was their term-time address.

In England, Wales and Scotland, if the respondent was resident elsewhere during term-time they were not asked any further questions; this routing was not included in Northern Ireland.

Usual address one year ago

This question and the response options were the same across the UK.

Country of birth

The same question was asked across the UK, but response options were ordered so that the nation in which the person was resident was listed as the first option.

Date of arrival

In England, Wales and Scotland, respondents born outside the UK were asked their date of most recent arrival (month and year).

In Northern Ireland, respondents born outside Northern Ireland were asked for the year the respondent came to live there.

Intended length of stay

This question was only asked in England and Wales.

Passports

This question and response options were the same across the UK.

National identity, ethnic group, language and religion

National identity

In England, Wales and Scotland, the national identity question listed the same response options, but response options were ordered differently. In Northern Ireland the same response options were listed, with the addition of a response for “Irish”.

Ethnic group

Ethnic group questions followed a similar design in England, Wales and Scotland. There were high-level ethnic group categories and different response options.

In England, the high-level categories were:

• “White”
• “Mixed or multiple ethnic groups”
• “Asian or Asian British”
• “Black, Black British, Caribbean or African”
• “Other ethnic group”

In Wales, the high-level categories were:

• “White”
• “Mixed or multiple ethnic groups”
• “Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British”
• “Black, Black Welsh, Black British, Caribbean or African”
• “Other ethnic group”

In Scotland the high-level categories were:

• “White”
• “Mixed or multiple ethnic groups”
• “Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian”
• “African, Scottish African or British African”
• “Caribbean or Black”
• “Other ethnic group”

There were some differences within the categories. For example, “Scottish” and “Other British” appeared as separate response options in the “White” category in Scotland, and “Filipino” was a response option in Northern Ireland. While “Pakistani” was a response option in England and Wales, in Scotland the equivalent option was “Pakistani, Scottish Pakistani or British Pakistani”. There were also separate response options in Scotland for “Showman/Showwoman” and “Polish” in the “White” category.

In Scotland, the “African, Scottish African or British African” and “Caribbean or Black” categories included a write-in response but no other tick-box response options. Example responses were included for these write-in boxes and the “Other” write-in box in the “Other ethnic group” category. Examples were not given on the questionnaires in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, the question did not have high-level ethnic group categories. Instead, it listed 10 response options, including two with write-in response boxes - “Mixed ethnic group” and “Any other ethnic group”.

Main language

The main language question was the same in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the sign language examples given in the “Other” response option varied. The same question was asked in Wales, where the first response option was “English or Welsh” rather than “English”.

English language skills

The English language skills question was the same in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only those whose main language was not English (or English or Welsh in Wales) were asked the question. A single question asked how well the respondent could speak English, with the response options:

• “Very well”
• “Well”
• “Not well”
• “Not at all”

In Scotland, the English language skills question was asked of all respondents. It asked respondents:

“How well can you understand, speak, read and write English?”

Respondents were asked to rate their skill using the same response options that were used for the question asked elsewhere in the UK.

Other language questions

A question on Welsh language skills was asked only in Wales. Questions on Scottish Gaelic skills, Scots language skills and British Sign Language were asked only in Scotland. Questions on Irish language and Ulster-Scots language skills were asked only in Northern Ireland.

Religion

In England and Wales, the question asked was:

“What is your religion?”

The response options in England were:

• “No religion”
• “Christian” (including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations)
• “Buddhist”
• “Hindu”
• “Jewish”
• “Muslim”
• “Sikh”
• “Any other religion, write in”

In Wales, the Christian option was “Christian (all denominations)”; the other response options were the same as England.

In Scotland, the question asked was:

“What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?”

The same response options were largely presented as in England and Wales. An additional option of Pagan was provided, and there were three options replacing the single “Christian” tick-box. These were:

• “Church of Scotland”
• “Roman Catholic”
• “Other Christian (write in)”

In Scotland, there was also a write-in option for “Muslim” and “None” was used rather than “No religion”.

In Northern Ireland, the question asked was:

“What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?”

The response options were:

• “Roman Catholic”
• “Presbyterian Church in Ireland”
• “Church of Ireland”
• “Methodist Church of Ireland”
• “Other (write in)”
• “None”

Those answering “None” were also asked the question:

“What religion, religious denomination or body were you brought up in?”

The response options were the same.

Sexual orientation, gender identity and trans status or history

Sexual orientation

The sexual orientation question was the same across the UK. The response options were the same, except that in Northern Ireland a “Prefer not to say” option was included.

Gender identity and trans status or history

In England and Wales, respondents were asked the question:

“Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?”

In Scotland, respondents were asked the question:

“Do you consider yourself to be trans, or have a trans history?”

Questions on this topic were not asked in Northern Ireland.

Health, disability and unpaid care

Health and disability

The general health question was the same across the UK. A two-stage question on health problems and disability was asked across the UK, but the approach differed.

In England and Wales, respondents were asked the question:

“Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last for 12 months or more?”

Those who answered yes were asked about the extent to which the conditions or illnesses reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

In Scotland, respondents were asked to identify from a list of conditions or illnesses lasting, or expected to last, 12 months or more. They could also choose “Other condition” (with write-in option), or “No condition”. Those identifying a condition or illness were asked about the extent that day-to-day activity was limited, like in England and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, respondents were first asked about the extent that day-to-day activity was limited. They were then asked to identify any conditions lasting, or expected to last, 12 months or more from a similar list to that used in Scotland.

Unpaid care

The question was the same across the UK, but the response options differed slightly. Scotland and Northern Ireland had a “Yes, 1 to 19 hours a week” option; and in England and Wales the response option was split into “9 hours a week or less” and “10 to 19 hours a week”.

Qualifications, employment and travel to work (or study)

Qualifications

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a three-part question asked whether respondents had:

• degree level or above qualifications
• any other qualifications
• completed an apprenticeship

In England and Wales, the apprenticeship question was asked first; in Northern Ireland, it was asked last.

In Scotland, the paper questionnaire had a single question that covered all types of qualification. Online, the question was split into different types of qualification.

The exact qualifications listed are similar, but they varied to reflect the qualifications awarded across the UK.

Previous service in UK armed forces

The question was the same in England, Wales and Scotland, but the response option order was different in Scotland. The question was not asked in Northern Ireland.

Economic activity, employment status, employer, supervisory status, and hours worked

These questions were the same across the UK.

Travel to work or study

Across the UK, respondents currently in work were asked about their place of work (including address) and how they travelled there. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the question also included place of study for those currently studying.

The response options for place of work or study varied between nations. In England and Wales, the response option “At a workplace or report to a depot” was split into two separate options online. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the questions and response options differed online depending on whether the respondent was working or studying.

The response options for travel were the same, other than that:

• “Car or van pool, sharing driving” was included in Northern Ireland
• options for underground, tram or light railway were included (but worded slightly differently) in Scotland and in England and Wales
• “Work mainly at or from home” was included in England and Wales

Whether the respondent is a resident in a household or communal establishment

Respondents using an individual questionnaire in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were asked whether they were resident in a communal establishment, or a private or family household. In Scotland, there were separate individual questionnaires for people resident in households and in communal establishments.

Position in communal establishment

Communal establishment residents were asked whether they were:

• resident
• staff or owner
• family member or partner of a member of staff or the owner

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a fourth option of temporarily resident (no usual UK address) was provided.

Questions about the property and tenure

Type of accommodation

The question, and most response options, were mostly the same across the UK. The wording of the option referring to a purpose-built block of flats or tenement varied. In England and Wales, there was an additional response option of “Part of another converted building (for example, former school, church or warehouse)”.

Self-containment and number of bedrooms

In Scotland, the self-containment question asked:

"Are all the rooms in this accommodation behind a door that only this household can use?"

In England and Wales, the self-containment question wording specified that “rooms in this accommodation” included the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.

The number of bedrooms question was the same in England, Wales and Scotland. Neither of these questions were not asked in Northern Ireland.

Adaptation to accommodation

This question was asked only in Northern Ireland.

Tenure

The question and response options were the same in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there was an additional response option of "Owns with shared equity (for example, LIFT, Help-to-Buy)".

Landlord of the address

In England, Wales and Scotland, respondents were asked the question:

"Who is your landlord?"

In Northern Ireland, respondents were asked the question:

"Who do you rent from?"

The response options differed, with fewer response options on the landlord question in Scotland and separate responses for “Private landlord” and “Private renting with letting agent” in Northern Ireland.

Central heating at the address

The censuses asked the same question with the same instructions across the UK. The list of response options and examples was different in each country, but in each case included options for:

• oil
• gas
• electric
• wood
• solid fuel
• renewable energy
• no central heating

In Northern Ireland there was also a question on renewable energy systems.

Car or van availability

The question was the same across the UK. The highest response option was “4 or more” in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and “5 or more” in England and Wales, with a request to write in the number in each case.

Questions about residents and visitors at the address

Usual residents

Paper questionnaires across the UK included the question:

“Who usually lives here?”

Online respondents were first asked whether they lived at the address, then they were asked about other people living there and visitors. In Scotland, respondents were asked the question:

“Who usually lives at the address?”

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, respondents were asked the question:

“Do any of the following people also live at [census address] on Sunday 21 March 2021?”

The response options were broadly the same, but in a different order. Some response options differed, reflecting different definitions between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Household relationships

The question was the same in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with some additional wording related to unrelated household members in Scotland. The response options were the same, but precise wording varied between the censuses.

The number of people included on this section on the paper questionnaires differed, reflecting the number of respondents included on the questionnaire. Six people were included in Northern Ireland, and five were included in England, Wales and Scotland. Continuation household questionnaires were available for households larger than this number.

Visitors staying at the address

Respondents in Scotland were asked whether anyone was staying at the address on census night whose permanent or family home was elsewhere. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, respondents were asked whether anyone not already listed in the residents questions was staying overnight on census night.

Respondents across the UK were asked for the name, date of birth and sex of each visitor, and their permanent address in UK or the country of their permanent address if it was outside the UK. The response options were similar but were ordered differently.

Questions about the establishment

In England and Wales and in Scotland, the same two questions were asked about the nature of the establishment and who was responsible for managing the establishment. The response options for nature of the establishment in Scotland and in England and Wales were different.

Similar questions were asked in Northern Ireland, with similar response options. An additional question asked:

“Which groups does this establishment cater for?”

Questions about residents and visitors at the establishment

In England and Wales, communal establishment managers were asked for the number of usual residents and visitors. They were then asked the question:

“Do any of the following currently live in this establishment?”

This question was followed by a list of categories of resident (such as someone resident but absent on census day, people with no other UK address, students, or the manager and their family). A separate question was asked about visitors.

In Scotland, managers were asked for the number of usual residents and visitors and the number of usual residents in each of six age groups, by sex.

In Northern Ireland, managers were asked for the number of usual residents and were asked for the name, sex and date of birth of those residents. They were also asked which of four age groups the establishment catered for.

More information about the questionnaires used for each census can be found on the relevant census office’s website and census regulations.

Census 2021 in England and Wales

• Census 2021 paper questionnaires for England and Wales.
• Description of the online questionnaires in the Census (England) Regulations 2020 and Census (Wales) Regulations 2020. 
• Our Question development webpages.
• Our Census 2021: England and Wales general report.

Census 2022 in Scotland

• Census 2022 paper questionnaires for Scotland.
• Description of the online questionnaires in the Census (Scotland) Regulations 2020, as amended by the Census (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2020.
• National Records of Scotland’s (NRS) Developing Census questions webpages.
• NRS’s Scotland's Census 2022 - general report.

Census 2021 in Northern Ireland

• Census 2021 paper questionnaires for Northern Ireland.
• Description of the online questionnaires in the Census Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020.
• Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency’s (NISRA) Census 2021 general report.