Census population details 1891 to 1921

FOI ref: FOI/2022/4469

You asked

Please could you send me the following information within a CSV or Excel file for the 1891, 1901, 1911 and 1921 UK census:

• Census Year
• Occupation Code
• Occupation Description
• Parish, County
• Birth Year
• Gender
• Total/ Count of People

We said

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.

Unfortunately, occupation information for parishes is not available from the earlier censuses, as the historic censuses do not provide such detailed statistics for smaller areas.

Statistics from 1891-1921 were originally published in reports, but have now been digitised so that facsimiles of the tables can be provided. This Histpop online database is the best source for the requested information. Please see the accompanying download (164.6 kB PDF) to our response, which provides instructions on how to access the Histpop database.

However, although the broad picture of population change can be followed from census to census, each census has evolved to reflect and keep up with changes in society which means direct comparison does not necessarily provide a good source of information about detailed change over time. Changes in the questions asked, in the categories used, how the results are presented, and in geographical boundaries, mean that each census primarily provides a 'cross sectional' picture of the country at the time. Some elements of continuity can nevertheless be found, but how the statistics are presented from over 100 years ago, to the most recent census varies considerably.

The administrative geography in England and Wales is subject to frequent change. The most stable units are Civil Parishes (CPs) in England and Communities in Wales, which can very often be traced all the way from 1801 to the present day but not every area of England and Wales has parishes.

The administrative geography in England and Wales is subject to frequent change. Prior to this, the Local Government Act 1972, abolished previous existing local government structures, and created a two-tier system of counties and districts everywhere.

Before the Act, Counties were comprised County Boroughs (CBs), Urban Districts (UDs), Municipal Boroughs (MBs) and Rural Districts (RDs). All but RDs were further divided into Electoral Wards. RDs were divided into Civil Parishes. After the Act, the new Counties were divided into Local Authorities which again consisted of wards and Civil Parishes.

If you have any queries about Census data or require any further assistance on accessing these data, please feel free to contact the Census Customer Services team at census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk or +44 1329 444972.