These systems are being developed to make greater use of administrative sources and to produce outputs with greater frequency.
Australia, New Zealand, Canada
In general, many countries still (like the UK) conducting uk rcs data essentially traditional censuses such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have moved to using online data collection as the primary mechanism in the early 2020s, with support for those unable to complete the electronic questionnaire.
All are exploring the greater use of administrative data as part of their future population data systems.
There are many administrative data sources in the UK which could be developed or enhanced and securely linked to build statistical models of the population from which census-type data could be drawn.
The NHS central register, for instance, covers age, sex and internal migration status fairly well but includes few other attributes.
Linking these basic demographic characteristics for statistical purposes with benefits, tax, education and housing data, for example, could form the basis of a system to provide much of the core census data. The Office for National Statistics have been engaged in extensive experimentation of these approaches, alongside all the work on the 2021 census and have released multiple experimental datasets.