Reflections from the UK on the Future of Population Statistics

Oliver Duke-Williams, UCL University College London
Nicola Shelton, UCL

The most recent censuses taken in the United Kingdom – in 2021 and 2022 – were also perhaps the most unusual – the pandemic affecting both the way in which people completed it, and the answers that they gave. It may also be the last census of its kind: alternative data sources offer the potential for different ways of counting the population, bringing with them their own opportunities and threats. This paper explores the future of population statistics – primarily in the UK – based on the authors' experience as the Census Service Director at the UK Data Service, and as a member of the census Methodological Assurance Review Panel, and as director of the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (comments reflect personal perspectives). This includes the opportunities and threats posed by a move to make greater use of administrative data both for current and future data series, and longer term questions about how and why we preserve data for the future.

Keywords: Census data, Linked data sets , Data and Methods

See extended abstract.