Population

Making sure Census 2031 reflects modern society

Lincoln Cathedral lit up purple during the census

Once a decade, the census provides us with the unique opportunity to ask questions of the whole population of England and Wales. The information gathered from this monumental exercise is vital for the functioning of our society. But planning for a census is many years in the making. As Jason Zawadzki explains, first and foremost we need to ensure the topics we ask about reflect the needs of our users and meet the wider needs of society.

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How suicide statistics are changing

People talking in support group

A change in the standard of proof for how suicides are recorded that occurred in 2018 and increasing delays in the time taken for suicides to be registered have created challenges for ONS in communicating our suicide statistics. In this blog, David Mais, Head of Mortality Statistics, explores how these developments are changing our releases.  

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More than just numbers: How ONS connects with users of population statistics

A group of people next to the River Thames

Without high-quality population statistics, making good decisions on resource allocation and proper planning for public services is almost impossible.  But we know that producing statistics that are robust and reliable relies on us truly understanding the needs of people using them, and responding to those needs. Rich Pereira explains how we engage with our users to do this.

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Global journeys: estimating international migration

Migration is one of the most talked about issues in the UK today—and at the ONS, our job is to measure it. In our next Bringing Data to Life webinar, taking place on Tuesday 22 July from 4pm to 5pm, we’ll take you behind the numbers to show exactly how we estimate international migration, what the latest data are telling us, and why the figures sometimes change.  

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