National Records of Scotland

Preserving the past, Recording the present, Informing the future

25 council areas reach 85% census returns

25 council areas reach 85% census returns

Thursday, 26 May 2022
Image showing postal worker holding a census letter

Of Scotland’s 32 Local Authorities, 25 now have a census return rate of over 85%, National Records of Scotland confirmed today.

Across Scotland, 2,238,784 households have now returned their census, representing a current national return rate of 85.7%.

Census returns must be submitted by the end of May; failure to do so could result in prosecution and a fine of up to £1000.

Paul Lowe, Chief Executive, NRS said:

“It’s very encouraging to see that more than 85% of Scotland’s households have now completed their census and that we have achieved an 85% completion rate in more than three quarters of our local authority areas. However, every single return counts if the census is to be effective in delivering its many benefits for future public services.

“If you haven’t yet completed your census, please join the thousands of people that are filling it in every day and do so before the end of May, to avoid the risk of prosecution.”

Help is available online at census.gov.scot, or by calling the free helpline on 0800 030 8308 if you have specific questions or need a paper questionnaire. Field teams have undertaken more than 1.5 million visits to households, and are carrying out community events across Scotland to support census completion.

Cumulative Household Return Rate by Local Authority  - 25 May 2022

 

Local Authority

Household Return Rate (%)1

Aberdeen City

85.9%

Aberdeenshire

91.0%

Angus

88.1%

Argyll and Bute

85.9%

City of Edinburgh

87.2%

Clackmannanshire

86.1%

Dumfries and Galloway

88.8%

Dundee City

81.9%

East Ayrshire

86.2%

East Dunbartonshire

88.3%

East Lothian

88.3%

East Renfrewshire

87.5%

Falkirk

87.9%

Fife

85.9%

Glasgow City

79.0%

Highland

87.9%

Inverclyde

82.0%

Midlothian

87.6%

Moray

88.7%

Na h-Eileanan Siar

91.9%

North Ayrshire

84.2%

North Lanarkshire

83.3%

Orkney Islands

91.3%

Perth and Kinross

87.1%

Renfrewshire

83.9%

Scottish Borders

88.5%

Shetland Islands

87.0%

South Ayrshire

89.2%

South Lanarkshire

85.9%

Stirling

87.8%

West Dunbartonshire

79.6%

West Lothian

87.3%

 

National Records of Scotland

1Data presents % households enumerated up to 8am on the 26nd of May 2022

The 2022 census will benefit Scotland for many years; it asks questions on a range of topics, including the types of accommodation people stay in, household relationships, age, sex, health and employment status. New questions for the 2022 census include use of British Sign Language (BSL), passports held, previous armed forces history and new voluntary questions on sexual orientation and trans status.

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