Population and vital statistics: births, marriages, households and projections

Vital statistics are the official counts of life events such as births, marriages, civil partnerships and divorces, published by the ONS for England and Wales, National Records of Scotland (NRS) and NISRA for Northern Ireland. The same bodies produce population estimates, population projections and the census, which describe how many people live in the UK, their ages, households, ethnicity and religion. Fact-checkers use them for claims about falling birth rates, an ageing population, marriage and divorce trends and what is driving population growth.

Covers: UK · Release calendar

What it publishes

Annual live births, stillbirths and total fertility rates for England and Wales, with parents' ages, country of birth and local authority figures.
Annual tables of the most popular baby names in England and Wales, with ranks by region and mother's age, and a separate Scottish list from NRS.
Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales by age, type of ceremony and region, and divorces and dissolutions with rates and marriage duration.
Families and households in the UK, including people living alone, lone parents and young adults living with parents, from the Labour Force Survey.
Mid-year population estimates for the UK and its nations and local areas by age and sex, with the components of change: births, deaths and migration.
National population projections every two years or so, showing future population size and age structure under stated assumptions.
Census results for England and Wales (2021), Scotland (2022) and Northern Ireland (2021), covering ethnicity, religion, qualifications, households and more.
NRS and NISRA annual and quarterly vital events tables covering births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and adoptions.

Key datasets

Births in England and Wales
Live births, fertility rates, parents' ages, gestation and stillbirths for England, Wales and local authorities, with a series back to 1838.
Updated: Annual (first estimates in spring, final rates later in the year)
Baby names for girls, England and Wales
Top 100 girls' names with counts and rank changes, plus breakdowns by region, mother's age and month; a matching dataset covers boys.
Updated: Annual
Divorces and dissolutions in England and Wales
Numbers and rates of divorce and civil partnership dissolution, marriage duration and the share of each marriage year ending in divorce.
Updated: Annual
Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales
Marriages and civil partnerships by sex, age, region and day, published about two years after the reference year.
Updated: Annual
Families and households in the UK
Household numbers and types, people living alone, families with children and young adults living with parents, UK and nations.
Updated: Annual
Mid-year population estimates
Population of the UK, its countries and local areas by age and sex, with births, deaths and migration as components of change.
Updated: Annual
National population projections
Projected population for the UK and its nations by age, with fertility, mortality and migration assumptions and variant scenarios.
Updated: Usually every two years
Census 2021 (England and Wales)
Topic bulletins, maps and data on ethnicity, religion, qualifications, households and more, down to small areas.
Updated: Every ten years
NRS vital events, Scotland
Scottish births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and adoptions, with annual Registrar General tables and quarterly updates.
Updated: Quarterly and annual
NISRA births, deaths and marriages
Northern Ireland births, deaths, marriages, divorces, civil partnerships and baby names, with Registrar General annual reports and quarterly tables.
Updated: Quarterly and annual
Scotland's Census
Results of Scotland's 2022 census, including population, ethnicity, religion and households.
Updated: Every ten years

APIs and downloads

ONS API
Free API for ONS datasets and time series, including census and population data; no key required.
Nomis
ONS-run service for census, population and labour market tables down to small areas, with a free query builder and API; optional registration allows larger queries.
Nomis Census 2021 data
Bulk downloads and custom tables for every Census 2021 topic in CSV.
ONS population estimates time series
Excel and CSV downloads of mid-year estimates for the UK and its countries by age and sex.
NRS births time series data
Spreadsheet downloads of Scottish births and fertility over time.

When it publishes

The ONS pre-announces population and vital statistics releases on its release calendar and publishes at 9:30am or 7am. Births data for England and Wales come out in two stages each year: counts in the spring and final fertility rates in late summer or autumn. Mid-year estimates appear in the summer or autumn after the reference year, and marriage statistics about two years after the year they cover. NRS and NISRA publish quarterly vital events tables and their own annual reports.

How to use it to check a claim

Check the geography: many ONS life event releases cover England and Wales only, with Scotland and Northern Ireland published separately by NRS and NISRA.
For births, note whether the figure is a count of births or the total fertility rate; a falling count can reflect fewer women of childbearing age.
Check the period: calendar year, year to mid-year, or year of registration rather than occurrence.
For population growth, use the components of change in the mid-year estimates to separate natural change from net migration.
Treat projections as conditional on their assumptions, quote the base year (for example 2024-based) and note any variant used.
For census topics such as religion and ethnicity, remember the figures describe census day and that some questions are voluntary.
Watch for revisions: the ONS revises recent mid-year estimates when migration data improve.

Common mistakes

Quoting the England and Wales fertility rate as the UK rate, or comparing it with Scotland's without saying which is which.
Treating a population projection as a forecast of what will happen.
Using crude counts of divorces or marriages to describe likelihood instead of rates per 1,000 married people or cohort shares.
Comparing baby name rankings that combine spellings with the official tables, which count each spelling separately.
Reading small changes in survey-based household estimates as real when they are within the margin of error.

Who publishes birth and marriage statistics in the UK?

Each nation has its own registration system. The ONS publishes births, marriages and divorces for England and Wales; National Records of Scotland covers Scotland; and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) covers Northern Ireland. UK totals are built by adding the three, and some UK-wide figures appear in ONS population estimates.

When was the last UK census?

England, Wales and Northern Ireland held their last census on 21 March 2021. Scotland moved its census to 2022 because of the pandemic. Results for each are published separately by the ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA, so UK-wide census comparisons combine figures collected a year apart and with some differences in question wording.

What is the difference between population estimates and projections?

Estimates describe the population at a past date, usually 30 June, using census data, registrations and migration evidence. Projections show what the population would be in future if assumed trends in births, deaths and migration continued. Estimates are revised as data improve; projections are replaced by new sets.

Questions answered using this source

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.