DataNation and Cookies

DataNation is a powerful resource that brings together themed layers derived from official census data with authoritative Ordnance Survey maps. It includes data from the 2011 UK Census, the 2021 Census for England and Wales, and the 2022 Census for Scotland. With DataNation, you can explore local socio-economic conditions, analyse patterns, and personalise the data to support deeper understanding and critical thinking.

Yes. We offer a free 30 day 'try before you buy' fully functional version for evaluation purposes. Note that taking a trial does NOT automatically sign you up for a paid subscription and trials do not auto-renew.

A 12-month subscription costs £199 (ex. VAT) per school.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE CANNOT ACCEPT PAYMENT BY CHEQUE.

The national census is conducted by the Office for National Statistics once every 10 years, offering insights into the demographics and residences of individuals across England, Scotland and Wales.

Once your school has completed a subscription form your named school contact will be sent a username and password by email. There is only one username and password per school for everyone to use.

Each school has a named contact. This is a teacher who acts as a contact between EDINA who provide the service, and the subscribing school. If you have forgotten your login details, you can ask your named contact. Alternatively, if you are a member of staff you can email the EDINA Helpdesk stating your school name and postcode.

DataNation is a classroom‑ready resource that combines themed layers derived from official census data (2011 UK; 2021 England and Wales; 2022 Scotland) with authoritative Ordnance Survey maps, giving you a straightforward way to plan lessons that explore local socio‑economic conditions and build critical thinking. It is used across:

• Geography (human geography, mapping census variables, and local fieldwork context),
• Mathematics and Statistics (data handling, measures of central tendency and spread, percentages and rates),
• Computing (data import, cleaning, and visualisation with spreadsheets),
• Citizenship/PSHE and Social Subjects/Modern Studies (inequality, access to services, and community profiles),
• Business and Economics (customer demographics and site/location analysis), Sociology (population structure, deprivation, and social change),
• Environmental Science and Science (links between environment, health, land use, and sustainability), and History (comparing change between the 2011 and 2021/2022 censuses and local trends over time).

Using real census data and Ordnance Survey maps, you can set tasks such as choropleth mapping, area comparisons, simple statistical investigations, exporting maps and tables for worksheets, and incorporating pupil‑collected data to build analytical skills across these subjects.

If you are responsible for delivery of initial teacher training at a university you may be entitled to free access to DataNation for the purposes of teaching training teachers. Contact datanation@ed.ac.uk for more information.

Yes. We offer a free, fully functional 30 day no obligation trial of the service. Note that taking a trial does NOT automatically sign you up for a paid subscription and trials to not require payment details upfront.

DataNation is designed to work with the latest version of the most popular web browsers on tablet, laptop and desktop computers. Please ensure you are using an up to date version of Edge, Chrome, FireFox or Safari. DataNation is also designed to work with Safari on iPads using the latest iOS. Please note, the service has not been tested on all iPad Minis or Android devices. DataNation has also not been designed for very small screens such as mobile phones. While the functionality may work, the available screen area does not offer sufficient useful space. We do not advise using DataNation on a mobile phone.

See Terms of Use.

To request a subscription to DataNation you need to know:

1. Your full school postcode.
2. The name and email address of an authorised staff member who can agree to the Terms and Conditions of the service and who will receive emails from us.
3. The name and email address of a staff member responsible for finance who will receive an invoice c.60 days after the subscription is ordered. Optionally, the email addresses of any other day-to-day staff users of the service so we can keep them informed of t raining available and free resources.
4. If appropriate, your school VAT registration number, company number and charity number (where applicable).

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE CANNOT ACCEPT PAYMENT BY CHEQUE.