Use this 18-minute B2 academic reading lesson to practise reading numbers and noticing how careful the writer is.

Check answers using the structured explanations provided after students complete all 10 exercises.

Read the pinned text carefully, paying attention to numerical facts and words like "seems" or "suggest".

Answer questions 1 to 10 in sequence, starting with statement verification and ending with summary completion.

Sentence Pattern Tip: Why this works

"Roughly a third of the residents are under thirty."

Notice how everyday words like roughly show that a number is a close estimate rather than an exact count.

IELTS Academic Reading Passage

Counting People: The 2021 Census of England and Wales and World Population Figures

A

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that, in its first results, 59,597,300 usual residents lived in England and Wales on Census Day, 21 March 2021. Of these, 56,489,800 lived in England and 3,107,500 in Wales. The population grew by more than 3.5 million, or 6.3 percent, since the census of 2011.

B

The ONS counted 24,782,800 households on Census Day, which is 6.1 percent more than in 2011. Of all households, 30.2 percent, or 7.5 million, had only one person, the same share as in 2011. The average household had 2.4 people.

C

The United Nations says that the world population reached 8 billion people on 15 November 2022. It took 12 years to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion. The UN expects it to take about 15 years, until 2037, to reach 9 billion, and it projects a peak of about 10.3 billion by the mid-2080s.

D

These facts seem to show that the population of England and Wales grew between 2011 and 2021, and I think the UN dates suggest that world growth is slowing. The ONS says that census statistics are estimates and that some people are missed or counted twice, and the UN says that there is some uncertainty about the future, so none of these numbers is exact.

Question 1 Yes / No / Not Given

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

Question 2 Yes / No / Not Given

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

Question 3 Yes / No / Not Given

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

Question 4 Multiple Choice

____ a. The United Nations used a different data collection method from the ONS. ____ b. Certain people are omitted from the count or included more than once. ____ c. The average household size changed significantly between 2011 and 2021. ____ d. Most usual residents failed to register their household details on Census Day.

Question 5 Multiple Choice

____ a. 6.3 years ____ b. 6.1 years ____ c. 12 years ____ d. 15 years

Question 6 Multiple Choice (Writer's View)

____ a. Cautious, emphasizing that published population figures remain estimations rather than absolute facts. ____ b. Confident that world population growth will reach complete stagnation long before 2037. ____ c. Critical of the ONS for failing to maintain exact household records across England and Wales. ____ d. Convinced that global census methods must be completely restructured by international organizations.

Question 7 Matching Paragraphs

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

Question 8 Matching Paragraphs

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

Question 9 Summary Completion

Official population reports from the ONS clarify that census statistics are ____ because some people are either missed or counted twice.

Question 10 Summary Completion

In analyzing the timeline provided by the United Nations, the writer suggests that global population growth is currently ____.