Population and Society
Our Population and Society domain covers statistics on the size and geographic spread of the population, on the factors driving population change (including births, deaths and migration), and on people’s lifestyles and culture, including sport, language, and identity.
Our goal is to make sure that data and statistics are of sufficient quality and value to reliably support public debate and inform decision making for a wide range of stakeholders.
We will continue our assessments of the 2021 and 2022 Censuses, and most recently commenced our phase 3 assessments of 2021 Censuses in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
We will engage with statistic producers on developments to transform population statistics. As part of this work, we recently completed the first phase of our assessment of the Office for National Statistics’ Admin-Based Population Estimates (ABPE’s)..
In our wider work in the domain, we will be following up on our interim review on gender identity and also our previous regulatory work on mortality statistics.
Our regulators for this domain are Catherine, Vicky, Gillian, Claire, Emma and Geraldine. You can contact them via regulation@statistics.gov.uk for more information or any queries.
Planned Work
| Project | Geography | Project Type | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Based Population Estimates (ABPE)’s derived from the Dynamic Population Model (Office for National Statistics) Phase 1 | England and Wales | Follow up | July 2024 - tbc |
| Admin Based Population Estimates (ABPE)’s derived from the Dynamic Population Model (Office for National Statistics) Phase 2 | England and Wales | Assessment | January 2025 - tbc |
| Follow-up to 2021 Review of Population Estimates and Projections | England and Wales | Review | May - September 2024 |
| 2022 Census (National Records of Scotland) | Scotland | Assessment follow up on Phase 2 and starting Phase 3 | Continuing from 2023 |
| 2021 Census (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) | Northern Ireland | Assessment: Phase 3 | June 2024 - tbc |
| 2021 Census (Office for National Statistics) | England and Wales | Assessment: Phase 3 | June 2024 - tbc |
| Follow up to systemic review of Long Term International Migration statistics (Office for National Statistics) | United Kingdom | Follow-up | Continuing from 2023 |
| Gender Identity Review | England and Wales | Review | Continuing from 2023 |
| Review of Excess Deaths reporting | England and Wales | Follow-up | Continuing from 2023 |
| Mortality Statistics (Office for National Statistics) | England and Wales | Follow-up | Continuing from 2023 |
Correspondence
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Alastair McAlpine to Ed Humpherson: Developing a modern statistical system – A review of Scotland’s Census 2022
26 February 2025
to Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation
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Ed Humpherson to Alastair McAlpine: Scottish Government review of Scotland’s Census 2022
26 February 2025
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Alastair McAlpine, Scottish Government
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Ed Humpherson to Sandy Fitzpatrick, Director of Census and Social Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency: 2021 Census in Northern Ireland, phase 3 report
11 February 2025
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Sandy Fitzpatrick, NISRA
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Grant Fitzner to Ed Humpherson: Temporary pause of the Personal well-being in the UK release
4 December 2024
Grant Fitzner, Office for National Statistics to Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation
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Ed Humpherson to Grant Fitzner: Temporary pause of the Personal well-being in the UK release
4 December 2024
Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation to Grant Fitzner, Office for National Statistics
Publications
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Reflecting on the role of statistics and OSR in an evolving public sphere
16 April 2025
Published in: Think Piece
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Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics: 2021 Census in Northern Ireland
11 February 2025
Published in: Assessment Report
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Review of statistics on gender identity based on data collected as part of the 2021 England and Wales Census: Final report
12 September 2024
Published in: Assessment Report
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Admin-based population estimates for England and Wales
15 July 2024
Published in: Assessment Report
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The assessment of the Office for National Statistics’ Admin Based Population Estimates: Independent expertise
15 July 2024
Published in: Assessment Report
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Election 2024: What to look out for
7 June 2024
Published in: Guidance
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OSR’s review of excess deaths reporting
13 February 2023
Published in: Reviews
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Review of Migration Statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics
1 March 2022
Published in: Reviews
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Review of Loneliness Statistics
14 September 2021
Published in: Systemic Reviews
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Review of population estimates and projections produced by the Office for National Statistics
10 May 2021
Published in: Reviews
News & Events
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OSR Publishes its Final Report on the Review of the Statistics Collected on Gender Identity During the England and Wales Census
12 September 2024
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OSR publishes findings and requirements for ONS to enhance their Admin-Based Population Estimates (ABPEs)
15 July 2024
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OSR updates on ONS’s progress with the transformation of international migration statistics
7 December 2023
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OSR Publishes Assessment of 2022 Census in Scotland
4 April 2023
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OSR confirms the National Statistics designation of 2021 Census in England and Wales
28 June 2022
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OSR is delighted to confirm the National Statistics designation of 2021 Census in Northern Ireland
24 May 2022
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OSR statement on claims related to economic migrants
28 April 2022
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OSR statement on statistics around refugees
30 March 2022
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OSR publishes report on ONS migration statistics
1 March 2022
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OSR welcomes ONS blog on COVID-19 deaths: to say only 17,000 people have died from COVID-19 is highly misleading
26 January 2022