A 2001 Census Area Statistic (CAS) sector was one of 2 special postcode sectors created for 2001 Census Output. A postcode sector comprises all the unit postcodes that have the same identifier except for the last two characters. Special postcode sectors are created for census output to ensure sectors conform to a minimum threshold and do not cross Council Area boundaries. CAS sectors have a minimum threshold of 20 households and 50 persons, the same minimum threshold as Census Output Areas. There are 1,010 CAS sectors.

A 2001 Standard (ST) ward is one of 2 special wards created for 2001 Census Output. These are both created by aggregating output areas and are only best-fit for electoral wards. Where 2001 Census Area Statistic (CAS) wards fall below the ST thresholds (400 households and 1,000 persons) they are merged with neighbouring CAS wards to exceed the threshold. It is also necessary to make a few adjustments to ST wards so as to remove and ‘slivers’ below ST threshold created by differencing ST wards and ST sectors. The processes result in 1,176 ST wards.

This dataset shows the 2001 Census Output Areas (OAs) Household Weighted Centroids. An individual Output Area generally covers a sufficiently small area (subject to meeting minimum population / household counts) so that user defined or ad-hoc areas can be created while maintaining a sufficient level of quality. National Records of Scotland (NRS) produces only one set of OAs and creates all other output geographies using the OA as the building brick. Each OA is assigned to an area in a higher geography by first selecting one of the postcodes in the OA as a ‘master’ postcode. The OA inherits all of the characteristics of the master postcode including its assignments to higher areas and its grid reference. The master postcode was selected using an algorithm which calculates the postcode centroid within an OA which has grid references closest to the household-weighted centre of the OA.

An DC sector is one of 2 special postcode sectors created for 2011 Census Output. A postcode sector comprises all the unit postcodes that have the same identifier except for the last two characters. Special postcode sectors are created for census output to ensure sectors conform to a minimum threshold and do not cross Council Area boundaries. DC sectors have a minimum threshold of 400 households and 1000 persons. There are 866 DC sectors. Revisions and Corrections Revision to Detailed Characteristic (DC) sector boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas. (7 October 2013) DC Sectors S28000494, S28000496, and S280007669 have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine.

The geography of Scotland comprises the mainland plus many islands. Some of these islands are inhabited and through time their inhabited/uninhabited status can change. As statistics for individual islands could reveal details about individual people, the individual islands have been grouped into 56 ‘island groups’ for 2011 Census output. Revisions and Corrections An anomaly was discovered in the 2011 Island Groups boundaries where the boundaries for some of the island groups were not including the mainland part of the island group.

A 2011 LC sector was one of 2 special postcode sectors created for 2011 Census Output. A postcode sector comprises all the unit postcodes that have the same identifier except for the last two characters. Special postcode sectors are created for census output to ensure sectors conform to a minimum threshold and do not cross Council Area boundaries. LC sectors have a minimum threshold of 20 households and 50 persons, the same minimum threshold as Census Output Areas. There are 1,012 LC sectors. Corrections and Revisions Revision to Local Characteristic (LC) sector boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas. (7 October 2013) LC Sectors S29000556, S29000558, and S29000870 have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) create and maintain digital settlement boundaries to support the creation of statistics for geographies that generally describe the urban areas of Scotland. NRS define a settlement as a collection of contiguous high density postcodes, bounded by low density postcodes (or water), with a population of 500 or more. While settlements can go a long way in defining the towns and cities in Scotland, some cover extensive areas and group together large populations. Current Settlement boundaries are reflective of mid-2016 populations, having been created using an amended version of postcodes from the Scottish Postcode Directory (SPD) 2016, release 2. Older versions of Settlements and Localities geographies are available from the NRS website.

This view service provides spatial data published by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

National Records of Scotland (NRS) create and maintain digital locality boundaries to support the creation of statistics for geographies that generally describe the urban areas of Scotland. Localities have a minimum rounded population of 500 people or more and generally correspond with the more recognisable towns and cities of Scotland. This dataset represents the population weighted centroids for each locality. Current Locality geographies are reflective of mid-2016 populations, having been created using an amended version of postcodes from the Scottish Postcode Directory (SPD) 2016, release 2. Older versions of Settlements and Localities geographies are available from the NRS website.

This dataset shows the 2011 Census Output Areas (OAs). OAs are the smallest geographical unit for which Census data is released, and as a result, they act as the basic “building-blocks” for the creation of other “higher” geographies, eg Datazones, council areas. The OAs are constructed by aggregating together a small number of postcodes. Because the OAs cover small areas and contain relatively small numbers of households and population (households in the range 20 to 77; population >/= 50), there is only a limited amount of Census data that can be released without infringing confidentiality. One of the main requirements during the creation of the 2011 OAs was to attempt to keep the 2011 boundaries the same as the 2001 OAs – this would make it easier to comparison over 10 years. There are 46,351 Census 2011 OAs in Scotland. Revisions and Corrections Revision to 2011 Output Area codes (13 September 2013) An anomaly was discovered in the 2011 Census Output Area (OA) codes which were published on 15 August 2013. The anomaly meant that, whilst all the current 2011 Census OA codes were unique, they did not always run in sequential order by council area. We decided to replace the codes with new ones that start at S00088956 and end with S00135306. Revision to Output Area boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas (7 October 2013) Output Areas S00102734, S00102787, and S00128636 have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine. Correction to Output Area boundaries (7 October 2013) Output Areas S00092480, S00092699, S00093130, S00094559, S00094726, S00102583, S00119179, S00119262, S00126169, S00126157, and S00133403 have been amended as part of the cosmetic exercise/spatial improvement.