When Was The First U.K. Census Taken?

The United States was the first nation in modern times to make the regular taking of a census part of its constitution. But in the 11th century William the Conqueror ordered a survey of all the lands in England, their value and their owners, and this is still in existence, providing a record of that early census. It is called the Doomsday Book.

Since 1801, a U.K. census has been taken every ten years, and looking at the figures since then we can see immediately changes that have taken place since then. For instance in1801there were only 11,944,000 people in the U.K. In a census, much more information is gathered than just the number of people. There are questions about whether the people are married or single, about the kind of home they live in, the amount of schooling they had, their occupation, and so on.