The UK census has been taken every 10 years since the first one was taken in 1801, the only exception being 1941.
The dates when the census was taken are shown in the following table - in general the details recorded should have been of people present at each dwelling at midnight at the end of this day, although in later years the rules were clarified to include those, such as night shift workers, who returned to the dwelling the following morning, having not been counted elsewhere.
| 1801 Census | Tuesday 10th March 1801 |
| 1811 Census | Monday 27th May 1811 |
| 1821 Census | Monday 28th May 1821 |
| 1831 Census | Sunday 29th May 1831 |
| 1841 Census | Sunday 6th June 1841 |
| 1851 Census | Sunday 30th March 1851 |
| 1861 Census | Sunday 7th April 1861 |
| 1871 Census | Sunday 2nd April 1871 |
| 1881 Census | Sunday 3rd April 1881 |
| 1891 Census | Sunday 5th April 1891 |
| 1901 Census | Sunday 31st March 1901 |
| 1911 Census | Sunday 2nd April 1911 |
| 1921 Census | Sunday 19th June 1921 |
| 1931 Census | Sunday 26th April 1931 |
| 1941 Census | -- see note below -- |
| 1951 Census | Sunday 8th April 1951 |
| 1961 Census | Sunday 23rd April 1961 |
| 1971 Census | Sunday 25th April 1971 (1971 Census Forms) |
| 1981 Census | Sunday 5th April 1981 (1981 Census Forms) |
| 1991 Census | Sunday 21st April 1991 (1991 Census Forms) |
| 2001 Census | Sunday 29th April 2001 (2001 Census Forms) |
| 2011 Census | Sunday 27th March 2011 (2011 Census Forms) |
| 2021 Census | Sunday 21st March 2021 (More ... ) |
No census was held in 1941 because of the second world war but a "mini-census" was held in 1939 so that everybody could be issued with a National identity card. This was held on Friday 29th September 1939. More details here.
We always welcome any comments, suggestions or corrections - you can contact us at the feedback email address on the left