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How often is a Census held?

In the United Kingdom the national Census is held every 10 years. The first official Census was held over 200 years ago, in 1801. The first Census in Scotland, under the new government department of the General Register Office for Scotland, was in 1861. So if you were living in Scotland at the time you will have been counted at the last Census. And you could use the Census records to trace your family fairly easily to around 100 years ago. Most other countries hold Censuses of their populations, usually every ten years, although some hold them at 5-year intervals.

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