Editorial: Coverage of the Great Britain Census of Population and Housing

The extent of the undercount in the 1991 U.K. census and its consequences are described. The author notes that "the 1.2 million non-response, the difference between the published census figure and the final population estimate, is concentrated among young adults aged 20-34 years, particularly males, but includes significant numbers of young children and of very elderly people (80 years old and older)." Ways to reduce the level of non-response in future censuses are discussed.