Legal partnership status

Area types used in Census 2021. The method returns results based on the inclusion of the postcode/coordinate/UPRN within the designated geographical area. For instance, when using 'oa' as a parameter, the returned results will be for the Output Area that contains the specified postcode/coordinate/UPRN.

• oa - Output area (OA), the smallest geographical area used in the census, comprises 40-25 households and a population of 100-625 persons.
• lsoa - Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA), a small geographical area used in the census, comprises 400-1200 households and a population of 1000-3000 persons. Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are made up of groups of OAs, usually four or five.
• msoa - Middle layer Super Output Area (MSOA), a small geographical area used in the census, comprises 2,000-6,000 households and a population of 5,000 and 15,000 persons. MSOAs are made up of groups of LSOAs, usually four or five. MSOAs fit within local authorities.
• lad - Local Authority District. There are a total of 296 districts in England made up of 36 metropolitan boroughs, 32 London boroughs, 164 two-tier non-metropolitan districts and 62 unitary authorities, City of London district and Isles of Scilly district. In Wales, there are 22 local authorities, which are named principal areas..
• region - nine regions of England (London, the North East, North West, Yorkshire, East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, East of England and the South West) and Wales as a whole.
• country - constituent countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.