ABSTRACT
The statistics generally quoted on Anglo-Jewry are little more than rather informal estimates. For the smaller communities, where all members are personally known to one another, these estimates may not be wide of the mark; but it must be remembered that the coverage of these communities is not complete, and isolated Jews living in the smaller townships are of course never reported. A direct population estimate for the Jewish community is difficult to obtain unless as part of the national general census. In the country religious information was collected as part of the decennial census on only two occasions, in 1841 and 1851; the Registrar General has otherwise not taken any notice of religion in official population statistics. A population estimate based on death statistics is somewhat easier to apply, in view of the relative accessibility of the basic data.
