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Statistics: United Kingdom

Statistics on the internet and in print

GOV.UK - Statistics

The main starting point for official statistics relating to the UK.  You can filter the complete list by searching for keyword(s), or by choosing a Policy area or Department from the drop-down lists, or by restricting to a specific date range.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to find a specific publication by title - you could try using a search engine instead and enter the title as a phrase in quotation marks.

Office for National Statistics

ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics covering the UK economy, society and much more, and is the recognised national statistical institute of the UK.

Statistics can be found in several ways - search by keyword, or browse by theme or by title of ONS statistical bulletins.  A small selection of bulletins is reproduced in printed form in Monthly digest of statistics (available in the University Library).

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

These three home nations have their own statistical agencies which may provide additional statistics to those available via GOV.UK or the ONS.

UK censuses

Census statistics help paint a picture of each nation and provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics.  Separate censuses are taken for England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.  The links below will take you to the websites for each census, from where you can access the relevant statistics. Historical reports (pre-1938) can be accessed via the Histpop website.

In addition, printed reports are held by the University Library covering England & Wales (up to 2001) and Scotland (up to 1991):

England & Wales - BJL 5th floor, q HA 1121 C3

Scotland - BJL 5th floor, q HA 1151

Some other UK statistical sources

Many sources of statistics can be found via the links elsewhere on this page - here are just a few additional ones for specific topics.

Access to UK datasets

The websites listed below will give you access to many different datasets assembled by a variety of producers including UK government and intergovernmental organisations, research institutes, and individual academics.