Population

Occupation, income, unemployment and car ownership are examples of

economic data.

A census is a process by which

information is collected about every member of the population.

The Office for National Statistics (England and Wales) and the General Register Office (Scotland) are responsible for

the collection of data under the National Records of Scotland.

If the census isn’t completed, there’s

an £1000 fine.

Government agencies collect and process data, making it

available to interested parties.

Age, gender, religion and marital status are examples of

social data.

The electoral role can help

update in between censuses.

The census collects information on

individuals lifestyle and living conditions.

A census form is received by

an enumerator.

A census is taken on a single day every 10 years since

1801 (except 1941 and 2021).

Completing the census is a legal requirement in

the UK.

Births, deaths, marriages, adoptions and divorces must be

registered by law (births within 21 days in Scotland).

Civil registrations collect

vital statistics in between censuses.

Civil registrations provide

up-to-date limited statistics.

The General Household Survey is collected yearly by ONS and

collects data about private households in the UK.

UK border Agency records

migration.

YouGov, an online research company, collects

population data.

Government sponsored mini censuses are

carried out.

UK Statistical Division collects

social and economic data.

National Insurance records show

employment figures.

Police compile

crime rates and Prison numbers.

Schools, colleges and universities provide

the number of people in education.

Vehicle licensing departments show

numbers and the type of vehicles in use.

Loyalty cards compile

economic data on loyalty cards.

Data collection

forecasts population trends and form policies based on data, accesses the success of its current work and helps allocate resources to local authority councils.

Education data shows

literacy levels and access to education.

Employment data helps

governments and businesses to plan jobs and where new industrial sites should be.

Health data helps

allocate resources and where to locate hospitals.

Housing data helps

councils to assess needs and identify areas which should be prioritised for new investment.

Age data tells us

if the population is ageing so the government can predict the future demand for pensions.

Population numbers help to plan for

public services (e.g. schools, teachers, policing) and calculate grants for local authorities.

Data on births helps to plan for

maternity care and education, the location of new schools and inform population policy (e.g. China’s One Child Policy).

People are suspicious and think the census links to

what they might pay in tax.

People complain that some questions are

an invasion of privacy.

Cost of the 2011 census was

£482 million.

All forms are scanned and

destroyed.

It costs £3 million to

store paper records.

It takes years to collate the data therefore

it’s out of date.

Its hard to count everyone. E.g.

students not at home, gypsies, people on holiday, homelessness, people working abroad, people working on ships, prisoners, people living illegally.

A large team take

5 years to process data and produce reports.

Publicity is a cost as

people need to be educated about the census.

70,000 people are needed to

carry out a census, most are enumerators.

There’s a high cost. The last census in China cost

$500 million.

There are many languages. In India there are

16 official languages and around 1700 different dialects.

Data can be manipulated. For example in

Nigeria in the 1960s, numbers in regions were exaggerated for political representation reasons.

There’s hostile terrain and remoteness

(e.g. Brazil).

People can choose to go missing. It’s a choice so

never 100% accurate.

There are mistakes due to

human error.

Nomads can cross international boundaries, making them

difficult to count (e.g. Berbers of the Sahara).

There may be illegal immigrants. In the last 3 US censuses, as many as

7 million illegal immigrants chose to be excluded from the count.

The rapid growth of shanty towns makes it difficult. For example,

in Rio de Janeiro it’s difficult to get enumerators into the favelas.

Demographic change. In 10 years the population of India has grown by

17%.

Migration (e.g.

2000 people move to Mumbai daily).

Suspicion towards government from

people who live in shanty towns.

Low adult literacy is a problem. In Sierra Leone adult literacy is

35%.

Ethnic tension, war and

and political rivalry (e.g. South Sudan).

Many elderly in the UK live in poverty, relying on

state pension.

Increased demand for medical care and

rising health costs for the elderly.

There’s a need for geriatric care services which results in

a high cost for local authorities.

Increased employment in geriatric care (nurses) leads to

economic growth.

Older people provide

substantial child support for grandchildren.

Increased pressure on the working population which has to support an

increasing dependant age group (e.g. state pensions paid by the working population).

By 2030, only 56% of the population will be on working age, but the taxes they pay will be for 27% of the population.

Governments need to make unpopular decisions about pensions.

Fewer people for the

armed forces.

Fewer potential parents for the

next generation.

Companies may have difficulty

recruiting young workers.

Young people need to plan for

retirement early in their working life.

It deprives a country of a

suitable workforce.

Fewer people of working age to

pay taxes.

Increase birth rates by

introducing more maternity leave, providing creches in workplaces, more and better terms of paternity leave.

Increase the number of taxpayers by

Raising retirement age and tax contributions from active working populations, encouraging more women to work, encouraging migration into the country, attracting younger workers and their families/

Reducing the cost and percentage of pensions required by

encouraging more people to take out private pension schemes to reduce cost of providing public pensions, raising retirement age so pensions are accessed later.

A young population will become the active working population, vital for

the country’s development.

A larger potential workforce attracts

multinational countries to the country.

Use young population to attract inward investment which increases

job prospects and investment in infrastructure which will benefit all residents of the country.

Low literacy rates due to

inadequate educational provision.

Overcrowded schools and

hospitals.

Increased pressure on

working population.

Expense of providing

education.

Pressure on farmers to grow enough food which leads to

poorer soil quality.

Traffic worsens as

city’s population increases.

Insufficient jobs leads to high unemployment and crime rates rise. There’s a rise in

informal sector employment.

People become poor which leads to hunger, urbanisation and therefore

overcrowding.

More trees are cut to create farmland and therefore

desertification occurs.

Youthful population will move into the active cohort, requiring services. There may be insufficient

economic resources to support this.

Spend lots of money on medical care for

children.

Little housing leads to makeshift shacks that lack basic amenities (toilets, water supply) which leads to

the spread of disease.

Government policies may promote smaller families (anti-natalist) or

encourage emigration to reduce population problems.

Population can be reduced by the education of

women.

Increase opportunities for abortions and

sterilisations.

High-yielding crops, fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation can be used to

improve farming and crop yields.

Laws limiting family size (e.g.

China’s one child policy).

Education on reducing the number of

births (e.g. family planning clinics).

Incentives to limit family size (e.g.

free health care, preferential housing).

Lack of jobs, unemployment was 18.9% in

2004\.

young people unemployed

40%.

Low wages as

£3/hour average wage.

Lower GDP/capita $12,700 compared to the UK’s

$30,900.

Low unemployment rate at

5%.

Scotland was experiencing a skills shortage and needed workers in

skilled and semi-skilled labour.