In 2011, 87.2 percent of the total population of the United Kingdom were white British. A positive net migration in recent years combined with the resultant international relationships following the wide-reaching former British Empire has contributed to an increasingly diverse population.
Varied ethnic backgrounds
Black British citizens, with African and/or African-Caribbean ancestry, are the largest ethnic minority population, at three percent of the total population. Indian Britons are one of the largest overseas communities of the Indian diaspora and make up 2.3 percent of the total UK population. Pakistani British citizens, who make up almost two percent of the UK population, have one of the highest levels of home ownership in Britain.
Racism in the United Kingdom
Though it has decreased in comparison to the previous century, the UK has seen an increase in racial prejudice during the first decade and a half of this century. Racism and discrimination continues to be part of daily life for Britain’s ethnic minorities, especially in terms of work, housing, and health issues. Moreover, the number of hate crimes motivated by race reported since 2012 has increased, and in 2017/18, there were 3,368 recorded offenses of racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury, almost a thousand more than in 2013/14.
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In 2019, people from most ethnic minority groups were more likely than White British people to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods.
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Dataset population: Persons
Ethnic group
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
This topic contains ethnic group write-in responses without reference to the five broad ethnic group categories, e.g. all Irish people, irrespective of whether they are White, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Other ethnic group, are in the "Irish" response category. This topic was created as part of the commissioned table processing.
Religion
This is a person's current religion, or if the person does not have a religion, 'No religion'. No determination is made about whether a person was a practicing member of a religion. Unlike other census questions where missing answers are imputed, this question was voluntary and where no answer was provided, the response is categorised as 'Not stated'.
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Dataset population: Dependent children
Ethnic group
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
This topic contains ethnic group write-in responses without reference to the five broad ethnic group categories, e.g. all Irish people, irrespective of whether they are White, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Other ethnic group, are in the Irish response category. This topic was created as part of the commissioned table processing.
Sex
The classification of a person as either male or female.
Between November 2023 and November 2024, around 65.2 percent of white British people in England aged 16 years and above were physically active. This represented a small increase on the previous survey period.
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Dataset population: Persons
Country of birth
Country of birth is the country in which a person was born. This topic records whether the person was born in or if they were not born in a country.
For the full country of birth classification in England and Wales, please see the National Statistics Country Classification.
Ethnic group
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
This topic contains ethnic group write-in responses without reference to the five broad ethnic group categories, e.g. all Irish people, irrespective of whether they are White, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Other ethnic group, are in the 'Irish' response category. This topic was created as part of the commissioned table processing.
In 2020/21 there were approximately 696,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the highest non-British population at this time. Indian and Irish were the joint second-largest nationalities at approximately 370,000 people.
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In the 3 years to March 2021, white British families were the most likely to receive a type of state support.
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Dataset population: Persons
Ethnic group
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
This topic contains ethnic group write-in responses without reference to the five broad ethnic group categories, e.g. all Irish people, irrespective of whether they are White, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Other ethnic group, are in the 'Irish' response category. This topic was created as part of the commissioned table processing.
National identity
A person's national identity is a self-determined assessment of their own identity with respect to the country or countries with which they feel an affiliation. This assessment of identity is not dependent on legal nationality or ethnic group.
The national identity question included six tick box responses:
Where a person ticked 'Other' they were asked to write in the name of the country. People were asked to tick all options that they felt applied to them. This means that in results relating to national identity people may be classified with a single national identity or a combination of identities.
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This dataset represents ethnic group (19 tick-box level) by highest level qualification, for England and Wales combined. The data are also broken down by age and by sex.
The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity, or physical appearance. Respondents could choose one out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.
Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.
"Asian Welsh" and "Black Welsh" ethnic groups were included on the census questionnaire in Wales only, these categories were new for 2021.
This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021. This dataset shows population counts for usual residents aged 16+ Some people aged 16 years old will not have completed key stage 4 yet on census day, and so did not have the opportunity to record any qualifications on the census.
These estimates are not comparable to Department of Education figures on highest level of attainment because they include qualifications obtained outside England and Wales.
For quality information in general, please read more from here.
Ethnic Group (19 tick-box level)
These are the 19 ethnic group used in this dataset:
No qualifications
No qualifications
Level 1
Level 1 and entry level qualifications: 1 to 4 GCSEs grade A* to C , Any GCSEs at other grades, O levels or CSEs (any grades), 1 AS level, NVQ level 1, Foundation GNVQ, Basic or Essential Skills
Level 2
5 or more GCSEs (A* to C or 9 to 4), O levels (passes), CSEs (grade 1), School Certification, 1 A level, 2 to 3 AS levels, VCEs, Intermediate or Higher Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Intermediate Diploma, NVQ level 2, Intermediate GNVQ, City and Guilds Craft, BTEC First or General Diploma, RSA Diploma
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Level 3
2 or more A levels or VCEs, 4 or more AS levels, Higher School Certificate, Progression or Advanced Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Advance Diploma, NVQ level 3; Advanced GNVQ, City and Guilds Advanced Craft, ONC, OND, BTEC National, RSA Advanced Diploma
Level 4 +
Degree (BA, BSc), higher degree (MA, PhD, PGCE), NVQ level 4 to 5, HNC, HND, RSA Higher Diploma, BTEC Higher level, professional qualifications (for example, teaching, nursing, accountancy)
Other
Vocational or work-related qualifications, other qualifications achieved in England or Wales, qualifications achieved outside England or Wales (equivalent not stated or unknown)
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Dataset population: Households
Ethnic group of HRP
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
The concept of a Household Reference Person (HRP) was introduced in the 2001 Census (in common with other government surveys in 2001/2) to replace the traditional concept of the 'head of the household'. HRPs provide an individual person within a household to act as a reference point for producing further derived statistics and for characterising a whole household according to characteristics of the chosen reference person.
Household composition
Household composition classifies households according to the relationships between the household members. Households consisting of one family and no other usual residents are classified according to the type of family (married, same-sex civil partnership or cohabiting couple family, or lone parent family) and the number of dependent children. Other households are classified by the number of people, the number of dependent children, or whether the household consists only of students or only of people aged 65 and over.
In 2023/24, the arrest rate for people in England and Wales varied by self-identified ethnicity. People who identified as Black or Black British had an arrest rate of 17 per 1,000 population, compared with ten for people who identified as white, and eight who identified as Asian or Asian British.
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This dataset represents ethnic group (19 tick-box level) by economic activity status and by occupation, for England and Wales combined. The census data are also broken down by age and by sex for each subtopic.
The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity, or physical appearance. Respondents could choose one out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.
Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.
This dataset shows population counts for usual residents aged between 16 to 64 years old only. This is to focus on ethnic groups differences among the working age. Population counts in these tables may be different from other publications which use different age breakdowns.
"Asian Welsh" and "Black Welsh" ethnic groups were included on the census questionnaire in Wales only, these categories were new for 2021.
This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.
For quality information in general, please read more from here.
For specific quality information about labour market, please read more from here
Ocupation counts classifiy people who were in employment between 15 March and 21 March 2021, by the SOC code that represents their current occupation. (Occupation is classified using the Standard Occupation Classification 2020 version). Details of SOC code can be found here.
Ethnic Group (19 tick-box level)
These are the 19 ethnic group used in this dataset:
This statistic shows British public opinion on the chance of a 'clash of civilizations' between British Muslims and native white Britons. The total of respondents who agreed that there will be such a clash was 50 percent. Meanwhile, a total of 26 percent disagreed.
Biennial statistics on the representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups as victims, suspects, offenders and employees in the Criminal Justice System.
These reports are released by the Ministry of Justice and produced in accordance with arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
This report provides information about how members of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BME) Groups in England and Wales were represented in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in the most recent year for which data were available, and, wherever possible, across the last five years. Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 requires the Government to publish statistical data to assess whether any discrimination exists in how the CJS treats people based on their race.
These statistics are used by policy makers, the agencies who comprise the CJS and others to monitor differences between ethnic groups and where practitioners and others may wish to undertake more in-depth analysis. The identification of differences should not be equated with discrimination as there are many reasons why apparent disparities may exist.
The most recent data on victims showed differences in the risks of crime between ethnic groups and, for homicides, in the relationship between victims and offenders. Overall, the number of racist incidents and racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police had decreased over the last five years. Key Points:
Per 1,000 population, higher rates of s1 Stop and Searches were recorded for all BME groups (except for Chinese or Other) than for the White group. While there were decreases across the last five years in the overall number of arrests and in arrests of White people, arrests of those in the Black and Asian group increased.
Data on out of court disposals and court proceedings show some differences in the sanctions issued to people of differing ethnicity and also in sentence lengths. These differences are likely to relate to a range of factors including variations in the types of offences committed and the plea entered, and should therefore be treated with caution. Key points:
In 2023/24 the stop and search rate for Black people in England and Wales was 22.4 searches per 1,000 people, compared with the stop and search rate for white people of six per one thousand people. People in the categories of 'other', mixed and Asian ethnic backgrounds also had a higher stop and search rate than that of the white population.
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39.8% of workers from the Indian ethnic group were in 'professional' jobs in 2021 – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups in this role.
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Dataset population: Usual residents aged 16 and over
Age
Age is derived from the date of birth question and is a person's age at their last birthday, at 27 March 2011. Dates of birth that imply an age over 115 are treated as invalid and the person's age is imputed. Infants less than one year old are classified as 0 years of age.
Ethnic group
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
This topic contains ethnic group write-in responses without reference to the five broad ethnic group categories, e.g. all Irish people, irrespective of whether they are White, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Other ethnic group, are in the Irish response category. This topic was created as part of the commissioned table processing.
Highest level of qualification
The highest level of qualification is derived from the question asking people to indicate all types of qualifications held. People were also asked if they held foreign qualifications and to indicate the closest equivalent.
There were 12 response options (plus 'no qualifications') covering professional and vocational qualifications, and a range of academic qualifications.
These are combined into five categories for the highest level of qualification, plus a category for no qualifications and one for other qualifications (which includes vocational or work-related qualifications, and for foreign qualifications where an equivalent qualification was not indicated):
This statistic presents the distribution of different ethic groups within the games industry workforce in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019. Within the UK games industry 67 percent of the workforce are White British, and 23 percent are White Other. The remaining ten percent of people working in the UK games industry are members of other ethnic groups, the largest of which is Asian people at around six percent of UK games industry.
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Ethnicity pay gap estimates for 2018 across different ethnicity breakdowns using the Annual Population Survey.
In 2011, 87.2 percent of the total population of the United Kingdom were white British. A positive net migration in recent years combined with the resultant international relationships following the wide-reaching former British Empire has contributed to an increasingly diverse population.
Varied ethnic backgrounds
Black British citizens, with African and/or African-Caribbean ancestry, are the largest ethnic minority population, at three percent of the total population. Indian Britons are one of the largest overseas communities of the Indian diaspora and make up 2.3 percent of the total UK population. Pakistani British citizens, who make up almost two percent of the UK population, have one of the highest levels of home ownership in Britain.
Racism in the United Kingdom
Though it has decreased in comparison to the previous century, the UK has seen an increase in racial prejudice during the first decade and a half of this century. Racism and discrimination continues to be part of daily life for Britain’s ethnic minorities, especially in terms of work, housing, and health issues. Moreover, the number of hate crimes motivated by race reported since 2012 has increased, and in 2017/18, there were 3,368 recorded offenses of racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury, almost a thousand more than in 2013/14.