The way we live now... 56 questions that will paint a brand new portrait of Britain

Yes, Sunday, March 27, will be the once-a-decade day when the Office of National Statistics collects data about us that will be used to plan everything from police services to roads, refuse collections to health provision.

How will our society have changed over the last 10 years? In 2001, the average age in England and Wales was 36, the population owned more than 23 million cars and vans, almost 1.5 million people worked 60-plus hours a week, and 8,560 of us were aged 100 or more. It's likely that all of those figures will have increased.

Census information is an essential cornerstone of planning, yet we in Britain were relatively late in coming round to the idea that it was good to have comprehensive information about our most valuable asset – our people.

The Babylonians and Ancient Chinese held censuses mainly for military and taxation purposes. The Egyptians collected information on the population so that they could plan armies of people to build pyramids and redistribute land after the annual flooding of the Nile.

The first thorough survey of England was in 1086, when William the Conqueror ordered the production of the Domesday Book, a detailed inventory of land and property. In Tudor and Stuart times, bishops were made responsible for counting the number of families in their diocese, but Britain was slow to adopt the idea of a regular official census.

While Quebec held its first official census in 1666, Iceland in 1703 and Sweden in 1749, some churchgoers here felt it was sacrilegious to count people, quoting the notorious census ordered by King David in Biblical times, which was interrupted by a terrible plague and never completed. Others believed that a population count would reveal the nation's strengths and weaknesses to foreign enemies.

Opposition to the idea of a proper census died out at the end of the 18th century, though, after the demographer Thomas Malthus published an essay in which he said that population growth would soon outstrip supplies of food and other resources. He predicted that, unable to support itself, Britain would be hit by famine, disease and other disasters. Parliament passed the Census Act in 1800 and the first Census of England and Wales was carried out in 1801. With the exception of 1941, it has happened every 10 years since.

In the early days, information was collected by the Overseers of the Poor, aided by other local officials such as police constables. The Act also applied to Scotland, and Ireland had its first Census in 1821. The first official count revealed that Great Britain's population was nine million. Previous estimates varied between eight and 11 million. An army of clerks processed information using pen, ink and paper. In 1921, punch cards and mechanical sorting and counting machines were

introduced. In 1961, computers were first used.

The first Census asked only a handful of questions covering sex, occupation and families per household. Questions which have come and gone include whether people were deaf, dumb or blind (1851-1911) and duration of marriage – which only made it into the 1911 Census.

Tracking changes in society is an integral part of the Census. For example, between 1951 and 1991, censuses asked whether people had an outside WC. In 2001, the focus shifted to indoor facilities, and results showed that by that time Britain's housing stock was well-served in the bathroom area.

Only the question of gender has stood the test of time, underpinning decisions made about the population for the last 210 years. Where to build houses, schools, leisure centres, roads is shaped, in part, by census statistics.

The 32-page, 2011 Census questionnaire contains 56 questions: 14 about the household and its accommodation and up to 42 for each member of the household to complete. Areas covered include work, education, national identity, citizenship, ethnic background, second homes (a new one), language, health, religion and marital status. The questionnaire will include usual residents and any visitors staying the night on Census Day. There is a legal requirement to complete the 2011 Census

questionnaire, under terms of the Census Act

Census information takes years to process and digest properly, and in the short-term all information is anonymous, with the first aggregate statistics released in September 2012. Access to specific household information is not accessible until 100 years after each census, but information about Britain in 2011 will provide bread and meat to genealogists of the future. After public consultation and input from every department in government, the 2011 Census – which will arrive shortly before Census Day on Sunday, March 27 – comprises 56 questions in a 32-page booklet. Among the new questions this time will be main language spoken and type of central heating.

Putting a census together takes years of planning. Questionnaires have been printed for 25 million households in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland collect their Census separately) and communal establishments such as care homes, military barracks and hospitals.

"We need to recruit and train 3,000 people across Yorkshire as part of 35,000 temporary staff from local communities across England and Wales to ensure the Census is delivered, completed and returned," said Peter Benton, deputy director for Census 2011.

"There are different and highly flexible roles including 157 managers and the very important job of door to door collectors and people who will help others to complete their Census form if necessary. We're very keen that those we recruit should reflect the population in the

community they will be helping, and need to offer help in 56 languages across the country. As an example of how society has changed, we only offered 27 languages last time.

"In 2001, 94 per cent of Census forms were returned, and we'd like to better that. Most forms will be posted out, but we're expecting that 25 per cent will be completed online." Around 30,000 collectors will start knocking on the doors of those who have not yet returned their forms 10 days after Census Day, says Mr Benton.

The 2011 Census will cost the country 480m. "That's 87p per person per year over 10 years, and on the basis of the information it provides, 100m of central government funding a year for 10 years is decided, targeting services people need to the right places at the right time."

n For more information about the Census go to: www.2011.census.gov.uk

n www.censusjobs.co.uk

n The Office of National Statistics has launched a new family history page of the 2011 Census website www.census.gov.uk/2011familyhistory along with a Facebook page where amateur genealogists can share tips for searching census records and discuss findings.

YORKSHIRE FACTS AND FIGURES

n The population of Yorkshire increased almost five-fold between 1801 and 1991, from 858,892 to 3,978,484

n In 1991, one in five households in Yorkshire did not have central heating, in line with the national average

n Between 1851 and 1901 the number of people employed on the railways in Yorkshire (excluding construction) increased more than twelvefold to 36,808

n In 1881, seven per cent of Yorkshire's female population were employed as indoor domestic servants, with almost eight times more

women domestic servants as men.

n In 1851, there were 21 chimney sweeps aged between five and nine years old in Yorkshire

n The fishing industry of North Yorkshire rose from 364 in 1841 to a peak of 2,553 fishermen and women in 1901

n There was a rise in the population density of Yorkshire from 0.4 people per acre in 1831 to 1.4 in 1991. The GB average at the time was almost one person per acre

n The number of people per household decreased from five in 1801 to 2.5 in 1991, in line with the national average