One Million Scottish Census Returns Completed

More than one million households completed Scotland's Census 2022, ahead of Census Day which was yesterday, 20th March.

The population of Scotland in 2021 was estimated to be 5.5 million, having been counted as 5,062,011 at the 2001 Census. Scotland's Census usually takes place every ten years and is the official count of every person and household in the country, with the results helping shape services, from the building of new schools and hospitals to improving transport links and understanding health needs. In 2020 the census was moved to March 2022 due to the impact of Covid-19; and for the first time, this year's count has mainly been completed online.

Households have been able to complete their return for the 2022 Census since 28th February. The census asks questions on a range of topics, including the types of accommodation people stay in, household relationships, age, sex, health and employment status. New questions for the 2022 census included use of British Sign Language (BSL), passports held, previous armed forces history and new voluntary questions on sexual orientation and trans status.

Paul Lowe, Registrar General and CEO of National Records of Scotland (NRS), comments: To reach one million completed returns, ahead of Census Day, is an amazing milestone. I want to thank everyone who has participated so far. I am delighted to see such a terrific response from the people of Scotland'.

Web site: www.census.gov.scot .