Scotland's Census 2022

Scotland's Census is the official count of every person and household in the country.

It usually takes place every 10 years. The census asks questions about people's age, sex, home and living situation, employment, education and qualifications, as well as ethnicity. Every household in Scotland must complete the census and by doing so are helping to shape Scotland's future.

Completing the census is important because the answers provide the Scottish Government, and many other service providers with the data they need to make important decisions that affect people's lives and their communities. These decisions include how money will be spent on important services like education, housing, healthcare, roads and railways, and so much more.

From the end of February, households will begin to receive a letter with instructions on how to complete their census online.

Census Day is 20 March but you can fill it in as soon as you receive your letter. Just make sure you answer questions with information that will be correct on 20 March to ensure that we have a snapshot of the nation on this day.

Go to census.gov.scot or call the free helpline on 0800 030 8308 for help and guidance on the questions, or if you need support to fill it in.

Accessibility

The National Records of Scotland is responsible for running the census in Scotland. 

They want to make sure that as many people as possible across Scotland can complete the census. They have designed both the online and paper experience to meet the needs of different citizens.

Independent accessibility audits and user testing have helped them to make sure:

• the colours and fonts in our online and paper designs are accessible
• written content is in plain English, with a low reading age
• the online system is compatible with assistive technologies and works on most browsers and devices (as per the UK Government Service Manual)

They have followed both public sector and international accessibility standards to guide their designs.

Working with third sector partners, they have also developed a number of support products to help as many people complete the census themselves as possible, either online or on paper.

To support online completion of the questionnaire, people will be able to access question help beside each question.

For those who complete on paper, they will publish question help on their website for them to use.

Additionally, they will also provide video guidance to support census completion online or on paper, featuring British Sign Language, subtitles and audio.