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.

Experimental statistics for population estimates by ethnic group broken down into age and sex at a national regional level for England and Wales.

These datasets provide a breakdown of detailed ethnic group by age and sex, ethnic group by age and ethnic group by sex

Information from Census 2021 on the sex and age characteristics of ethnic groups and how this has changed since 2011 in England and Wales.

Since 1991, the census for England and Wales has included a question about ethnic group.

Ethnic group 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 1 out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.

Usual resident A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

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 2024, approximately 8.4 percent of police officers in England and Wales were from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared with 8.1 percent in 2022, and just 3.5 percent in 2005.

Students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate into higher education in every year from 2006 to 2024.

During a 2023 survey carried out among more than ***** marketers from the United Kingdom, ** percent of respondents identified as white. Second largest group with *** percent were marketers who identified as Asian or Asian British, followed by *** percent of individuals who identified as Black, African Caribbean or Black British. The remaining *** percent identified as mixed raced or belonging to multiple ethnic groups.

These datasets provide a breakdown of ethnic group by age and sex, ethnic group by age and ethnic group by sex

Information from Census 2021 on the sex and age characteristics of ethnic groups and how this has changed since 2011 in England and Wales.

Since 1991, the census for England and Wales has included a question about ethnic group.

In 2021, the ethnic group question had two stages. Firstly, a person identified through one of the following five high-level ethnic groups:

• "Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh"

• "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African"

• "Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups"

• "White"

• "Other ethnic group"

Secondly, a person identifies through 1 of the 19 available response options, which include categories with write-in response options.

Labour market status by ethnic group, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

A socio-demographic study exploring the UK publishing industry revealed that *** percent of the publishing workforce in 2020 were Asian or Asian British, and ***** percent were Black or Black British. Whilst representation of ethnic minorities in publishing has very marginally increased since 2018, white people still make up the vast majority of employees in the industry.

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

A survey of UK young adults between 18 and 34 years in October 2023 found that ethnic minorities tend to exercise their data protection rights. Around 33 percent of respondents representing ethnic minorities said they had refused to provide their biometric data, compared to 22 percent of white respondents. Similarly, young people of color were more likely to ask an organization to stop using their personal information.

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:

• English
• Welsh
• Scottish
• Northern Irish
• British
• Other

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.

The census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The most recent census took place in March of 2021.The census asks every household questions about the people who live there and the type of home they live in. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, doctors' surgeries and roads.Key census statistics for Leicester are published on the open data platform to make information accessible to local services, voluntary and community groups, and residents. There is also a dashboard published showcasing various datasets from the census allowing users to view data for Leicester and compare this with national statistics.Further information about the census and full datasets can be found on the ONS website - https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/aboutcensus/censusproductsEthnicityThis 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.Definition: 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.This dataset includes data relating to Leicester City and England overall.

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.

In 2022, data revealed that 88 percent of persons employed as journalists or newspaper and periodical editors in the United Kingdom were white. Overall, there were only small fluctuations between 2016 and 2021, demonstrating that there is ample room for increased representation of non-white employees within the industry, though the share of journalists from other ethnic groups grew by four percent between 2020 and 2022.

This dataset represents ethnic group (19 tick-box level) by general health, by disabled and non-disabled populations, and provision of unpaid care, for England and Wales combined. The data are also broken down by age and 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.

"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.

Read more about this quality notice.

The population base for unpaid care is usual residents aged 5 and above. 5-year age bands have been used for the majority of analysis; however, age groups "5 to 17" and "18 to 24" have been used to allow commentary on young carers and young working age carers.

Ethnic Group (19 tick-box level)

These are the 19 ethnic group used in this dataset:

• Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh
  • Bangladeshi
  • Chinese
  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Other Asian
• Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African
  • African
  • Caribbean
  • Other Black
• Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
  • White and Asian
  • White and Black African
  • White and Black Caribbean
  • Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
• White
  • English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
  • Gypsy or Irish Traveller
  • Irish
  • Roma
  • Other White
• Other ethnic group
  • Arab
  • Any other ethnic group

_General health _

A person's assessment of the general state of their health from very good to very bad. This assessment is not based on a person's health over any specified period of time.

_Disability _

The definition of disability used in the 2021 Census is aligned with the definition of disability under the Equality Act (2010). A person is considered disabled if they self-report having a physical or mental health condition or illness that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more, and that this reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Unpaid care

An unpaid carer may look after, give help or support to anyone who has long-term physical or mental ill-health conditions, illness or problems related to old age. This does not include any activities as part of paid employment. This help can be within or outside of the carer's household.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify Household Reference Persons in England and Wales by household composition and by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Data about household relationships might not always look consistent with legal partnership status. This is because of complexity of living arrangements and the way people interpreted these questions. Take care when using these two variables together. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Household composition

Households according to the relationships between members.

One-family households are classified by:

• the number of dependent children
• family type (married, civil partnership or cohabiting couple family, or lone parent family)

Other households are classified by:

• the number of people
• the number of dependent children
• whether the household consists only of students or only of people aged 66 and over

Ethnic group

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.