Last of the censuses? The future of small area population data

This paper assesses future population data collection in the UK with reference to international trends, which suggest a retreat from census-taking in the face of enumeration challenges and the emergence of potential administrative sources. Some of the greatest strengths and weaknesses of contemporary censuses are explicitly geographical in nature. Key requirements of a geographical base for the transition from censuses to administrative sources are examined and the need for research on appropriate definitions and address-level georeferencing identified. The design of future output geographies is considered and an assessment undertaken of the possibility of maintaining current output geography as the basis for neighbourhood-level research.

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