A Census is taken by the Registrar General for Scotland with the approval of Parliament. The Census collects information about the characteristics of people and households in the country. It is used by central and local government, health authorities and many other organisations to allocate resources and plan services for everyone.

The Census Act permits a census to be taken at any time five or more years after the previous one.

In Great Britain, there has been a census every ten years since 1801 (except when war prevented a census in 1941, and there was an additional mid-decade census in 1996), with the most recent being held in 2001.

Profiles from the 2001 Census have been prepared for the following geographical areas:

 Unitary Authorities in Scotland [2Mb]

 Local Plan Areas in Dumfries and Galloway [1Mb]

 Wards in Dumfries and Galloway - 2007 [1Mb]

 Wards in Dumfries and Galloway - 1999 [2Mb]

 Regeneration Areas in Nithsdale [1Mb]

 Settlements in Dumfries and Galloway [2Mb]