Censuses in The United Kingdom - Coverage

Coverage

In 2001 the form in England and Wales was filled in by 94 per cent of the population, with a further 4 per cent identified by the census enumerators, though the results still represent 100 per cent of the population through the use of cross-matching with a follow-up survey. The Census Act 1920 legislates a fine of up to £1,000 for those who refuse to complete it.

During some censuses, significant numbers of people intentionally did not participate for political reasons. In 1911, the Women's Freedom League, a suffragette organisation campaigning for female suffrage in the United Kingdom, organised a boycott of the census of that year. They encouraged women to go to all-night parties or to stay at friends' houses to avoid the census. In 1991, many people again avoided the census, which was conducted during the time of the poll tax, in case the government used it to enforce the widely-despised tax. It was estimated that up to one million people were not counted by the 1991 census due to such aversion.