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.

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.

UK residents by broad country of birth and citizenship groups, broken down by UK country, local authority, unitary authority, metropolitan and London boroughs, and counties. Estimates from the Annual Population Survey.

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.

In 2021, there were approximately ******* Indian residents living in London, the most of any foreign nationality. Nigerian nationals numbered *******, and were the second most common nationality in this year.

In 2019, people from most ethnic minority groups were more likely than White British people to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

In 2024, there were ***** Albanians imprisoned in England and Wales, the highest foreign nationality in that year. Additionally, there were *** Polish nationals in jail, and *** Romanians, the second, and third-highest among foreign nationalities.

Of the almost more than *** million applications to the European Union settlement scheme in the United Kingdom, Romanian nationals had the highest number of applications at **** million, followed by Polish nationals at **** million applications.

According to the 2021 Census, 62.9% (37.5 million) of the overall population of England and Wales was of ‘working age’ (between 16 and 64 years old).

70% of White British households owned their own homes – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

In 2019, the Indian and White ethnic groups had the lowest percentage of recent internet users (90.4% and 90.5%). The Chinese group had the highest (98.6%).

In 2025, roughly 395 thousand doctors were registered in the United Kingdom (UK). Of these, around 180 thousand were white, while the largest ethnicity of UK doctors other than white was Asian or Asian British. Some 129 thousand doctors reported so. This is unsurprising considering the most common foreign country of medical qualification is India, followed by Pakistan. As of 2024, there were more doctors of ethnic minorities than white doctors in the UK.

In 2020, there were approximately 815,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the most of any European Union member state. Additionally, there were 404,000 Romanians, and 321,000 Irish nationals living in the UK in this year. Luxembourg was the EU member state with the fewest citizens living in the UK, at just 520 in 2019. In terms of British nationals living in the EU, Spain was the most popular destination, at almost 285,000 Britons, followed by France and Germany, which had British populations numbering 145,000 and 110,000 respectively. The EU settlement scheme After the Brexit referendum of 2016, the fate of EU citizens living in the UK, as well as that of British nationals in the EU, was suddenly unclear. Although the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK was affirmed at various points during the Brexit negotiations, the EU settlement scheme to handle this issue wasn't launched until 2019. As of March 2024, there have been almost 7.9 million applications to this scheme, with Romanian nationals being the most common nationality, followed by 1.23 million applications from Polish nationals, and 686,820 from Italian nationals. Migration still one of the top issues for voters In June 2024, immigration was seen as the third most important issue for voters, and was consistently ahead of many other issues in the months leading up to UK's 2024 general election. Net migration to the UK has risen sharply since 2021, reaching 745,000 in 2022, and remaining high in 2023. Although there has been a clear decline in net migration from EU nationals since the Brexit vote, there has been a far larger increase in non-EU net migration. Despite, pledging to bring immigration down, the previous Conservative government gradually lost trust on this issue with voters, with just 15 percent seeing them as the best party at dealing with immigration, compared with 20 percent who thought Labour would handle it best.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Non-Hispanic population of England by race. It includes the distribution of the Non-Hispanic population of England across various race categories as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the Non-Hispanic population distribution of England across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

Of the Non-Hispanic population in England, the largest racial group is White alone with a population of 1,68 (69.97% of the total Non-Hispanic population).

https://i.neilsberg.com/ch/england-ar-population-by-race-and-ethnicity.jpeg" alt="England Non-Hispanic population by race">

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (for Non-Hispanic) for the England
• Population: The population of the racial category (for Non-Hispanic) in the England is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of England total Non-Hispanic population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for England Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

In 2024, over ****** family entry clearance visas were granted to Pakistani nationals in the United Kingdom, the most of any nationality. Syrian and Iranian nationals were the next-most common nationalities granted family visas, at almost *****, and ***** respectively.

In 2023/24, 154,100 study visas for the United Kingdom were issued to students from India, making it by far the most common nationality to be granted study visas in that year. There was also a significant number of study visas granted to students from China, with 109,615 Chinese nationals granted study visas in that year.

This table shows resident population of London broken down by nationality, showing data for London's largest communities in 2004, and 2008 to 2012.

Also shows the percentage of the UK community that live in London.
The Annual Population Survey (APS) sampled around 325,000 people in the UK (around 28,000 in London). As such all figures must be treated with some caution. 95% confidence interval levels are provided.

All numbers based on fewer than 50 surveys have been suppressed.
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

The APS is the only inter-censal data source that can provide estimates of the population stock by nationality. The data have a range of limitations, particularly in relation to their poor coverage of short-term migrants or recent arrivals. They also struggle to provide estimates for small migrant populations due to small sample sizes.
Information about Londoners by Country of Birth using APS data, can be found in DMAG Briefing 2008-05 http://legacy.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/dmag-briefing-2008-05.pdf

ONS website

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Non-Hispanic population of London Britain township by race. It includes the distribution of the Non-Hispanic population of London Britain township across various race categories as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the Non-Hispanic population distribution of London Britain township across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

Of the Non-Hispanic population in London Britain township, the largest racial group is White alone with a population of 2,519 (90.32% of the total Non-Hispanic population).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (for Non-Hispanic) for the London Britain township
• Population: The population of the racial category (for Non-Hispanic) in the London Britain township is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of London Britain township total Non-Hispanic population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London Britain township Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here