More about areas - Further areas
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Output Area
Output Areas (OAs) are used across the UK as the base unit of census output. They were introduced in Scotland in 1991 and the rest of the UK in 2001. They have a minimum size of 50 residents in Scotland and 100 in the rest of the UK.
Further information on the UK Census and census geography
Lower Layer Super Output Area
- Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are used for reporting local statistics, and are formed from groupings of Output Areas. Their key advantages are that they are small, reasonably consistent in size and, unlike wards, are not subject to regular boundary change.
- In England and Wales LSOAs have a minimum size of 1,000 residents, with an average of around 1,500 residents.
- The Scottish equivalents are known as 'data zones', and have a minimum of 500 residents.
- The Northern Irish equivalents are simply referred to as 'Super Output Areas', and have a minimum of 1,300 residents.
Middle Layer Super Output Area
- Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) are formed from groupings of Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs). They are also reasonably consistent in size and, like LSOAs, are not subject to regular boundary change.
- In England and Wales MSOAs have a minimum size of 5,000 residents, with an average of around 7,200 residents.
- The Scottish equivalents are known as 'intermediate zones', and have a minimum of 2,500 residents.
- MSOAs and intermediate zones fit within local authority boundaries as at 1 April 2003. There are no equivalents in Northern Ireland.
Health Geography
The organisation of the National Health Service (NHS) is different in each of the four countries of the UK, full details can be found on the ONS Health Geography webpage.
Education Authority
Prior to 1 April 2009 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) were the bodies responsible for the local administration of state sector education services in England and Wales. Details of the current structure regarding Education geographic areas can be found on the ONS website.
UK Electoral Geography
Electoral geography in the UK is complex due to the different electoral systems and different areas used to elect members to different levels of administration, details of the various electoral entities can be found on the oNS UK Electoral Geography webpage.
Parish
Parishes are subdivisions of local authorities in many parts of England, and their councils are the most local level of government. Unlike electoral wards/divisions however, parishes are not found in all parts of England, they are predominantly found in more rural areas. The Welsh and Scottish equivalents are communities. Note that the full term for administrative parishes is 'civil parishes', to distinguish them from the ecclesiastical parishes which are found in all parts of the UK.
