When was the last census in Gibraltar, and when is the next one?

Short answer

The last census was taken on Monday 14 November 2022, and its full report was published in 2025. Gibraltar normally holds a census every ten years; the date of the next one has not been announced.

Detailed answer

Censuses are taken under the Census Act 1951. The Government makes an order setting the census date, and everyone who lives in Gibraltar is legally required to take part.

The 2022 Census was originally planned for 2021 and was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The previous census had also slipped by a year, from 2011 to 2012.

What was new in 2022

• It was the first census completed mainly online, with paper forms sent to residents aged 70 and over and to anyone who asked
• Forms and letters were delivered by the Royal Gibraltar Post Office for the first time
• It had 48 questions, the most ever, including new questions on main language, working from home, long-term health conditions and unpaid care
• It included voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender identity for people aged 16 and over

Individual census returns are confidential, and disclosing personal census data is a criminal offence. After the results are published the forms pass to the Government Archivist, who keeps them closed for 100 years.

The earliest surviving census of Gibraltar's whole civilian population dates from 1753, and the modern ten-yearly census began with an ordinance of 1868. The Statistics Office has said it may in future draw more census information from existing Government records, as some European countries do.