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National Census
The National Census is a complete Census of the whole country.
Why Find Out?
Think about these questions.
How many people live in England and Wales?
Where should more schools
be built?
Which cities have many old people?
What proportion of households
have a car?
- Who needs to know the answers to these questions?
- Write down two types of building old people use a
lot.
- Write down two types of building teenagers need.
- How would you decide where to build?
- How would you obtain the facts you need?
The Official Census
In 1801 Government decided to count the population. This was the first
CENSUS OF POPULATION. This Census has been carried out every 10 years
since 1801 (except 1941).
- When was the last Census held?
- When will the next Census be held?
- Why is the Census held every 10 years and not every year?
The Census Form
The Census
form is designed a long time ahead. It is tested on a sample of people from different
parts of the country. Questions which people find difficult to understand are
changed or left out.
To obtain accurate information, people must understand and answer each
question in the same way.
- Write down a question to find out how long people spend at
work.
Show your question
to three friends. Ask them to imagine they had to answer
it.
- Did they all understand your question in
exactly the same way?
Here are two questions designed to find out how people
travel to work.
How do you get to work?
What means of transport do you usually use for
the longest distance of your daily journey to work?
- Which of these two questions do you consider
the better question to put on the Census form? Why? Why is the other not so
good?
- Suggest one reason why the local authorities
might require this information on travelling to work.
Here is the question on how long
people work, exactly as it was worded in the 1971 Census form.
B. 19 How many hours per week does the person usually work in his job?
Exclude overtime and meal breaks.
- Compare this question with your question in a. Is it
longer or shorter? Is it better or worse than your question? Why?
- Suggest one reason why the local authorities might need this
information.
There should
not be too many questions on a Census form. It may take
too long to complete.
Comparisons with previous Census results can show how things have changed
over the years. This is easiest when questions remain the same each time the
Census is taken. When questions are re-worded or removed, comparisons are more
difficult.
- Why do some questions still get changed?
Extracting the Information
The Census form contains questions to be answered by each
household and each person. The answers provide information about the country which
helps in future planning.
Below are two lists. List 1 gives the subject of the
questions on the Census form to be answered. List 2 gives some questions which
the Government or local authorities might want answered.
The reference numbers A, B1, etc., in List 1 are those used
on the 1971 Census Form.
| List 1 Census questions |
| Household |
| A |
Address |
| A1/2 |
Ownership and shared residence |
| A |
Number of rooms |
| A4 |
Number of cars |
| A5 |
Washing, cooking and toilet facilities |
|
| Each Person |
| B1 |
Name |
| B2 |
Date of Birth |
| B3 |
Sex |
| B4 |
Usual Address |
| B5 |
Relation to head of household |
| B6 |
Whether married |
| B7 |
Whether the person has a job |
| B8 |
Work or full time education |
| B9/10 |
Own and parents' place of birth |
| B11/12 |
Address 1 and 5 years ago |
| B13/14 |
Academic and professional qualifications |
| B15/16 |
Employer and type of job |
| B17 |
Employee or self-employed |
| B18 |
Whether am apprentice |
| B19/20 |
Hours and place of work |
| B21 |
Method of travel to work |
| B22 |
Job last year |
| B23/24 |
Birth of children and marriage date |
List 1 - Census questions
- For each question in List 2 put down one or more items from List 1
that could help supply these answers. Do not try to answer the
questions.
Notice that, since everyone's name appears (in
B1), these names can be counted to give the number of
people in any category.
- Write down two other questions which could be added to List 2.
For each question write down the items from List 1 which would supply
the answers.
| List 2 Information one may wish
to know |
| 1 |
The total number of females |
| 2 |
Month with highest number of births |
| 3 |
Number of households sharing a residence |
| 4 |
Average number of rooms per household |
| 5 |
Number of people born here whose parents were born abroad |
| 6 |
Number of houses with no bathroom |
| 7 |
Number of people who moved house in the last year |
| 8 |
Number of people with 'A'-levels but no degree |
| 9 |
Number of people who drive to work |
| 10 |
Number of people away from home on the night of the census |
| 11 |
Number of 17-year-olds in full-time education |
| 12 |
Whether self-employed people work longer or shorter hours than
employees |
| 13 |
Average number of hours worked by apprentices |
| 14 |
Number of unemployed people with 'A'-levels |
| 15 |
Number of people who changed their job in the last year |
| 16 |
Number of working women with degrees |
| 17 |
Number of working men with 'A'-levels |
| 18 |
Number of married women, with children, working in the car
industry |
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