When will Scottish Census data be available?

For public sector professionals and those that simply love statistics, the release of up-to-date UK census data marks a significant event.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) published the first census results on 14 September 2023.

The initial release covered ‘Population by age and sex’ and ‘Number of households,’ both at Local Authority and country-wide levels, rounded for accuracy.

When is the next round of Scottish census data released?

Starting in May 2024, Scotland will publish the next round of census results, including ‘Population by age and sex’ and ‘Number of households’ across all geographies, from Local Authority to Output Area levels.

The 2022 updated boundaries of Output Areas (small statistical geographies comprising around 50 households) will be published by the SNR in May.

May will also see the first set of topic data published as univariate tables, with releases continuing throughout the year. 

In order, the topics will be:

• Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion 
• Armed Forces veterans 
• Sexual orientation and trans status or history 
• Demography and migration 
• Housing
• Education, labour market and travel to work 
• Health, disability and unpaid care 

When can we expect the full Scottish census results?

Scotland’s remaining census results will be multivariate census outputs – combining multiple topic variables in the same table, at all geographies down to Output Area.

The SNR aims to release these outputs in Winter 2024/25. Subsequent releases will include analytical reports, microdata (for accredited researchers), and origin-destination data detailing people’s movements, such as migration and commuting patterns, along with workplace and daytime population statistics.

For updates or changes to this schedule, please consult the official Scottish Census Outputs Schedule.

When will Scottish census data be available within Local Insight?

We aim to have the data in the system within a day of release, so that you can begin exploring the data right away.

In the meantime, you can explore other datasets for Scotland, including data on food and hardship vulnerability from the British Red Cross, and types of jobs worked from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). 

Within Local Insight, you also have exclusive access to the Scottish Community Needs Index, designed by us to help identify areas experiencing poor community and civic infrastructure, relative isolation and low levels of participation in community life.

Sign up to the Community Needs Index mailing list for latest news and analysis.

You can view this data for any neighbourhood that you’re interested in – whether that is wards, health board areas, council areas or parishes – through interactive maps, reports and dashboards.

To find out more, get in touch for a demo of Local Insight to ensure you and your team are ready for this important data release.

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