An official census has been held in Scotland every 10 years since 1801 (with the exception of 1941, in wartime) - when the Scottish population was recorded as 1.6 million, in contrast to the 5.1 million people who make up Scotland's population today.
The censuses of 1801 to 1831 were statistical only. They only recorded a headcount of each household, and three categories of work in which people may be working. Because of their lack of detail, these censuses are not normally considered to be of use to genealogists.
The dates of the Scottish Censuses most useful to family historians are:
Date of 1841 Scottish Census: 6/7 June
Date of 1851 Scottish Census: 30/31 March
Date of 1861 Scottish Census : 7/8 April
Date of 1871 Scottish Census: 2/3 April
Date of 1881 Scottish Census: 3/4 April
Date of 1891 Scottish Census: 5/6 April
Date of 1901 Scottish Census: 31 March/1 April
In order to prevent the possibility of omissions or double entries, the entire undertaking needed to be completed in a single day. Scotland was divided
into enumeration districts, which mostly reflected the boundaries of existing parishes.
To assist the census enumerators, the larger parishes were subdivided to enable the collection of all information within the one day.
Where to find the Scottish Censuses
Census returns for 1841-1891, and computerised indexes for 1841 - 1901 can be consulted at the General Register Office in Edinburgh.
Microfilm copies are available at Latter Day Saints (LDS) Family History Centres around the world, and the centres also carry microfiche indexes to the 1881 census returns. Computerised indexes for 1881, 1891 and 1901 are available at the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Indexes give the surname, forename, age, registration district name and number, enumeration district and page number.
Scotland's People provides digitised images of these census returns, for a fee, and a full transcript of the 1881 Scottish Census. Ancestry now has transcriptions/indexes (but no images) of the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 Scottish census returns, for members or those who buy credits.
The FreeCen project aims to get all the censuses free, searchable and online, and the census you want to view may already be available there.
