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GSS coding system

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The Office for National Statistics coding system is a hierarchical code used in the United Kingdom for tabulating census and other statistical data. The code is constructed top down from a 4 character code representing a unitary authority or county & district, eg:

00EC Middlesbrough (unitary)
or
12 Cambridgeshire county
12UB Cambridge district


Local Government wards have a two-letter code within their district, and census Output Areas an additional 4 digits within a ward. Output Areas are the smallest unit for which census data is published - they contain at least 40 households (preferably 100), and are built up from postcode blocks AFTER the census data is available with a view to being socially as homogeneous as possible. A new set of Output Areas is created for each decennial census.

12UB Cambridge district
12UBGA Petersfield Ward
12UBGA0001 Output Area: Gwydir Street (north of junction with Hooper St)

An overlapping system encodes Civil Parish areas. Parishes are represented by an additional 3 digits within their district:

12UD Fenland district
12UD010 Tydd St. Giles parish

ONS codes for counties & districts

Single-tier districts

Two-tier counties & districts

Northern Ireland districts

Non-hierarchical codes for summary data in metropolitan areas

ONS Beginners' Guide to UK Geography

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