The first results from Census 2021 in England and Wales will be released on 28 June. The population and household estimates from the decennial survey will guide the planning of local and national services we all rely on. But they are just the first brushstrokes of the detailed picture of the nation we will paint over coming months and years, a picture which will get richer and more detailed as we go. Here Jen Woolford explains what you can expect from the first results and how we have reached this stage.