ONS coding system

In the United Kingdom, the Office for National Statistics maintains a series of codes to represent a wide range of geographical areas of the UK, for use in tabulating census and other statistical data. These codes are referred to as ONS codes or GSS codes referring to the Government Statistical Service of which ONS is part.

The previous hierarchical system of codes has been replaced as from January 2011[1] by a nine-character code for all types of geography, in which there is no relation between the code for a lower-tier area and the corresponding parent area. The ONS intends to maintain the older coding system in parallel with the new one until the end of 2013.[2]

Geography of the UK Census

Information from the 2011 Census is published for a wide variety of geographical units. These areas include:

Neighbourhood Statistics Geography

Super Output Areas (SOAs) are a set of geographical areas developed following the 2001 census, initially to facilitate the calculation of the Indices of Deprivation 2004 and subsequently for a range of additional Neighbourhood Statistics (NeSS). The aim was to produce a set of areas of consistent size, whose boundaries would not change (unlike electoral wards), suitable for the publication of data such as the Indices of Deprivation. They are an aggregation of adjacent Output Areas with similar social characteristics. Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) typically contain 4 to 6 OAs with a population of around 1500. Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) on average have a population of 7,200.[4] The hierarchy of Output Areas and the two tiers of Super Output Areas have become known as the Neighbourhood Statistics Geography.

Former hierarchical coding system

The older ONS code was constructed top down:

For example, 12 for Cambridgeshire.

For example, 12UB for Cambridge district or 12UD for Fenland.

For example, 00AL for Greenwich (London Borough) or 00EC for Middlesbrough.

For example, 12UBGA for Petersfield Ward within Cambridge district.

Current GSS coding system

The current system replaces these codes with a fixed length code of nine characters. The first three characters indicate the level of geography and the six digits following define the individual unit. For example, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is coded as E09000011, Middlesbrough is E06000002, Cambridge E07000008 and Fenland E07000010.

The meaning of some common three character prefixes is as follows:[5]

England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Entity
E00 W00 S00 Census output area (OA)
E01 W01 S01 lower layer super output area (LSOA); data zone (S)
E02 W02 S02 middle layer super output area (MSOA); intermediate zone (S)
E04 W04 civil parish (E); Community (W)
E05 W05 S13 ward or electoral division
E06 W06 S12 unitary authority
E07 non-metropolitan district (two-tier)
E08 metropolitan borough
E09 London borough
E10 county
E11 metropolitan county
E12 English region
E14 W07 S14 N06 Westminster parliamentary constituency
E15 W08 S15 N07 European electoral region
E32 W09 S16 London Assembly; Welsh Assembly; Scottish parliament constituency
W10 S17 Welsh Assembly; Scottish parliament electoral region
E26 W18 S21 national park

Nine-character GSS codes

For a full and up-to-date listing of GSS names and codes, please follow the link to ONS Geography's 'Open Geography' portal, below.

References

  1. "New Geography Codes and Naming Policy implemented 1 January 2011". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  2. "GSS Coding and Naming - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. "Output Areas". ONS.
  4. "Super Output Areas". ONS.
  5. "Register of Geographic Codes (RGC)". Coding and Naming for Statistical Geographies. ONS. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

See also

External links

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