How the census helps Scotland
The census is the only count of everybody who lives in Scotland.
Census information informs public services that we all use. This means it is very important that the census is as complete as possible.
The case studies on this page tell the story of the positive impact the census has on Scotland.
Providing healthcare on Lewis
NHS Western Isles uses census information to help plan where services, such as doctor's surgeries, should be located.
Dr Maggie Watts from the health board said: "The population of the islands is generally moving towards the towns, such as Stornoway. It may seem obvious, then, that we would put more focus on services in these places.
"However, when we look at census data relating to age and where people live, it's apparent that a lot of older islanders are still living in remote locations and not towns.
"When we compare this with other sources of information, such as the provision of public transport, there is a clear need to maintain services in rural areas.
"Without census information, it would be a lot harder to properly inform these decisions, which have a real benefit to people in the Outer Hebrides."
Waid Community Campus
Census information about the level and age of Scotland's population helps to inform Scottish Government decisions about how schools should be improved or replaced.
Over £5bn of public money has been spent on building new schools or improving existing schools since 2007.
One example is the £24m Waid Community Campus in Anstruther, Fife.
The new facilities have brought a high school, community learning, development and sports facilities, a library, the police, and enterprise pods all together on one campus.
Having the school and other services in one place has meant there is more social interaction for the school pupils and a more family atmosphere on the campus.
Mental health support in Dundee
Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership has made use of census information to map-out and identify areas where mental health issues may be more concentrated.
Rose Sinclair from the partnership explained: "Census information has been a really important part of our work in this area.
"For example, the census has told us that the Lochee area of the city has one of the highest rates of people with mental health conditions.
"We can compare this with other census information for the area, such as age and employment, to build a detailed picture.
"Using all of this information, we have been able to make early intervention and prevention a priority in this community."
Tackling unemployment in East Ayrshire
The Auchinleck Community Development Initiative used census information to challenge existing thinking about unemployment levels in rural parts of the region.
This enabled the trust to successfully seek funding to run an employability programme that offered young people training in horticulture.
Stephen McCarron from the initiative explained: "Historically, urban areas of East Ayrshire, such as Kilmarnock, have received higher levels of funding to help tackle unemployment.
"However, using census information, we were able to show that rural areas experienced similar levels of long-term unemployment.
"This provided a compelling case for an application for Lottery funding to help us run a new outreach programme."