Blog posts : What are Census 2021 interactive “scrollytelling” articles?
At the Office for National Statistics (ONS), we published the first results from Census 2021 on Tuesday 28 June 2022.
These first results are estimates of the number of people and households in England and Wales. They show the number of people by sex and age at local authority level, rounded to the nearest 100.
More results will follow, and we aim to publish all the main results within two years of the census. You can find more information about the Census 2021 release plans (opens in a new tab) on the ONS website.
As well as releasing the data from Census 2021, we will also publish commentary or analysis to support and explain them. This includes new and exciting ways to interact with the data.
One of the ways we will bring the census data to life is through interactive content known as “scrollytelling” articles.
What is an interactive “scrollytelling” article?
The term "scrollytelling" describes online stories where you trigger animations and other effects as you scroll down a website page.
The strength of the scrollytelling format is its ability to engage the reader and bring a story to life.
At the ONS, we’ve already published some interactive “scrollytelling” articles. These include:
- Which jobs are most likely to have seen a drop in pay during the pandemic? (opens in a new tab)
- Exploring disparities in local income deprivation (opens in a new tab)
- What are the regional differences in income and productivity? (opens in a new tab)
But this is the first time that we will publish interactive articles using Census 2021 data.
Why are we using interactive “scrollytelling” articles for Census 2021?
Interactive “scrollytelling” articles are a great way to explain and explore complicated datasets.
As you scroll down the page, linking the text to maps, charts and other content will make patterns and trends easier to understand. Depending on the data, you may also be able to personalise the article by selecting something that interests you, such as where you live.
If you’re curious about the technical side of things, you can find out more in How we build scrollytelling articles (opens in a new tab) on the ONS Digital blog.
What Census 2021 interactive “scrollytelling” articles will we publish?
We will publish interactive “scrollytelling” articles to support each phase of the Census 2021 results.
We've published interactive articles about:
- the Story of the census (opens in a new tab)
- How the population changed where you live (opens in a new tab)
- The geographic divide in general health, disability and unpaid care (opens in a new tab)
You can find more information about our release plans and Census 2021 products on the census page (opens in a new tab) of the ONS website.