The Mayor of London The London Assembly

2021 Census

The census has been taken every ten years since 1801 (except 1941). It gives us the most comprehensive data on London’s population and is used to inform policy and spending decisions, identify community needs and shape local priorities.

Census day 2021 was Sunday 21 March. 2021 was a ‘digital-first’ census with most people completing it online. A paper questionnaire was also available for anyone who requested it.

Census releases

First results from the Census were population counts by sex and five year age band, numbers of households, and response rates. Rounded figures for local authorities in England and Wales were published on 28 June 2022. 

Detailed results on the characteristics of London’s population including data for small areas were published between November 2022 and January 2023 to this timetable comprising: 

  • demography and migration
  • UK armed forces veterans
  • ethnic group, religion, national identity and language
  • labour market and travel to work 
  • housing
  • sexual orientation and gender identity
  • education 
  • health, disability and unpaid care

Releases analysing Ethnic group, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and Religion by age and sex were published at the end of January, with some data for London boroughs and other local authorities in England and Wales. Further ‘analysis’ releases are continuing.

The main release of crosstabulations of census data will begin at the end of March. 

Census reports

Reports will be published on our census reports page as soon as possible after ONS release data. 

A list of our planned reports is here.

We also produced a report on the first population figures. This should be read alongside our blog post that explains how the census data relates to other population estimates and some of the pitfalls to avoid when interpreting the numbers.

Census Information Scheme 2021

The Census Information Scheme for the 2021 Census came into effect on 1 October 2021. The Scheme provides London-specific analysis of census statistics for the 33 London local authorities, the GLA and its Functional Bodies. Our offer includes:

  • Training and advice about the census and related data sources to both census specialist and wider non-specialist audiences
  • Analysis and reporting of census data including commissioning bespoke outputs and analyses
  • Access to current and previous census data including non-public protected datasets and historic census data for London
  • A voice for London in discussions about the future of census-like statistics