200-year-old UK Census to be scrapped

London: The Census — the official population count carried out by the government — is to be scrapped after more than 200 years.

Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said the Census, which took place every 10 years, was expensive and inaccurate. Instead, the government is examining different and cheaper ways to count the population more regularly, using existing public and private databases, including credit reference agencies.

It will represent a historic shift in the way that information about the nation's population, religion and social habits is gathered. The suggestion is likely to be approved by Cabinet this week, but will be too late to prevent the next Census on March 27, 2011 from going ahead.