Anxiety
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toBy ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toBy ethnicity over time section
- 4. Navigate toBy ethnicity (thresholds) section
- 5. Navigate toBy ethnicity over time (‘very low’ anxiety) section
- 6. Navigate to Methodology section
- 7. Navigate to Data sources section
- 8. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in 2018, when people in the UK were asked how anxious they felt yesterday, the average score was 2.85 out of 10 (where 10 is 'completely anxious’)
- average anxiety scores ranged from 2.62 for the Bangladeshi group to 3.46 for the Arab group
- 17.06% of people from the Bangladeshi ethnic group reported high levels of anxiety in 2018 (the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups)
- 32.55% of people from the Arab ethnic group and 35.25% of those from the Chinese group reported very low levels of anxiety (the lowest percentages out of all ethnic groups)
- between 2012 and 2018, there were decreasing levels of anxiety for all ethnic groups apart from the Arab ethnic group
Things you need to know
The data for this analysis comes from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS surveys a random sample of people to make generalisations about the whole population.
The commentary for this data only includes reliable (or 'statistically significant’) findings. Findings are reliable when we can be confident they reflect the total population.
Comparisons are based on unrounded data.
Variance:
People answered the question ‘How anxious did you feel yesterday?’ on a scale of 0 to 10. We can be more confident about an ethnic group's average score if there wasn't much variation in people's answers. (For example, if everyone answered between 6 and 8.)
We can be less certain about an ethnic group's average score if it's based on a wide variation in answers. (For example, if people answered between 4 and 9.) In these cases, the estimates are not included in the commentary.
What the data measures
The data measures how anxious people felt recently. The data is broken down by ethnicity.
The information comes from the Annual Population Survey. The survey is open to people aged 16 and over.
This data shows the results from the question 'overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?'
People responded on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is ‘not at all’, and 10 is ‘completely’.
The data compares the average anxiety levels of ethnic groups. It also shows the percentage of people in each group who experienced:
- very low anxiety (scoring 0 to 1)
- low anxiety (scoring 2 to 3)
- medium anxiety (scoring 4 to 5)
- high anxiety (scoring 6 to 10)
Average anxiety by ‘ethnicity and gender’ and ‘ethnicity and socio-economic group’ is only available every 3 years. Please see the previous version of this page for this information.
The ethnic categories used in this data
In England, the Annual Population Survey (APS) uses the 18 ethnic groups from the 2011 Census. But the censuses in Scotland and Northern Ireland use different ethnic groups.
The ethnic groups used here are therefore the greatest detail available for APS data for the UK:
- Arab
- Asian
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Other Asian Background
- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- Gypsy/Traveller/Irish Traveller
- Mixed ethnic groups
- White
- Other
2. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | |
|---|---|
| All | 2.85 |
| Bangladeshi | 2.62 |
| Chinese | 3.00 |
| Indian | 2.84 |
| Pakistani | 2.83 |
| Asian other | 2.68 |
| Black | 2.75 |
| Mixed | 3.07 |
| White | 2.85 |
| White Gypsy / Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Arab | 3.46 |
| Other | 3.02 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Anxiety By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- in 2018, when people were asked how anxious they felt yesterday on a scale of 0 to 10 (where 10 is 'completely anxious'), the average score was 2.85
- the average anxiety scores for people from the Arab (3.46), Mixed (3.07) and Chinese (3.00) ethnic groups were higher than the UK average
- all other ethnic groups had similar average scores to the UK average
3. By ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 3.03 | 2.95 | 2.89 | 2.84 | 2.89 | 2.91 | 2.85 |
| Bangladeshi | 3.22 | 2.92 | 2.73 | 3.04 | 2.98 | 3.02 | 2.62 |
| Chinese | 3.04 | 2.87 | 2.99 | 2.73 | 2.72 | 3.09 | 3.00 |
| Indian | 3.21 | 3.07 | 2.93 | 2.97 | 2.91 | 3.02 | 2.84 |
| Pakistani | 3.27 | 3.14 | 3.07 | 2.81 | 2.99 | 2.91 | 2.83 |
| Asian other | 3.19 | 3.28 | 2.92 | 2.98 | 2.91 | 2.78 | 2.68 |
| Black | 3.18 | 3.14 | 2.94 | 2.78 | 2.88 | 3.07 | 2.75 |
| Mixed | 3.48 | 2.85 | 3.22 | 3.29 | 3.14 | 3.17 | 3.07 |
| White | 3.01 | 2.93 | 2.87 | 2.84 | 2.88 | 2.89 | 2.85 |
| White Gypsy / Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Arab | 3.26 | 3.57 | 3.24 | 3.55 | 3.46 | 3.38 | 3.46 |
| Other | 3.45 | 3.28 | 3.00 | 2.86 | 2.93 | 3.06 | 3.02 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Anxiety By ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- between 2012 and 2018, the average anxiety score for people in the UK went down from 3.03 to 2.85 out of 10 (where 10 is ‘completely anxious’)
- in the same period, anxiety scores went down in every ethnic group except the Arab group
- there was a wide variation in responses in the Arab ethnic group, so it’s not possible to draw firm conclusions about any apparent increase in anxiety
4. By ethnicity (thresholds)
| Ethnicity | High | Medium | Low | Very Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| All | 19.66 | 16.05 | 23.09 | 41.19 |
| Bangladeshi | 17.06 | 15.37 | 24.05 | 43.53 |
| Chinese | 18.09 | 22.50 | 24.16 | 35.25 |
| Indian | 17.73 | 18.02 | 24.60 | 39.65 |
| Pakistani | 20.01 | 15.21 | 21.54 | 43.24 |
| Asian Other | 18.37 | 13.95 | 25.70 | 41.98 |
| Black | 18.55 | 16.07 | 21.34 | 44.04 |
| Mixed | 21.44 | 17.79 | 23.34 | 37.44 |
| White | 19.73 | 15.93 | 23.07 | 41.27 |
| White Gypsy / Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Arab | 25.81 | 19.00 | 22.63 | 32.55 |
| Other | 20.00 | 18.56 | 25.13 | 36.31 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (thresholds)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (thresholds)’ (CSV)
Summary of Anxiety By ethnicity (thresholds) Summary
Thresholds show the percentage of responses that fall into 4 groups on a scale of 0 to 10:
- very low anxiety (scoring 0 to 1)
- low anxiety (scoring 2 to 3)
- medium anxiety (scoring 4 to 5)
- high anxiety (scoring 6 to 10)
This data shows that:
- 41.19% of people had ‘very low anxiety’ and 23.09% had ‘low anxiety’
- 16.05% had ‘medium anxiety’ and 19.66% had ‘high anxiety’
- people in the Arab (25.81%), Mixed (21.44%), Pakistani (20.01%), Other (20.00%) and White (19.73%) ethnic groups were more likely than the UK average to have high levels of anxiety
- people in the Indian (39.65%), Mixed (37.44%), Other (36.31%), Chinese (35.25%) and Arab (32.55%) ethnic groups were less likely than average to have very low levels of anxiety
5. By ethnicity over time (‘very low’ anxiety)
| Ethnicity | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 38.05 | 39.22 | 40.49 | 40.62 | 40.33 | 40.21 | 41.19 |
| Bangladeshi | 35.16 | 40.22 | 42.60 | 39.06 | 39.32 | 37.35 | 43.53 |
| Chinese | 32.94 | 32.68 | 34.97 | 38.85 | 38.30 | 34.40 | 35.25 |
| Indian | 34.33 | 34.80 | 37.79 | 38.16 | 38.86 | 36.79 | 39.65 |
| Pakistani | 36.06 | 38.62 | 39.03 | 41.33 | 36.72 | 42.73 | 43.24 |
| Asian other | 34.89 | 35.32 | 39.43 | 37.48 | 39.26 | 40.86 | 41.98 |
| Black | 35.42 | 38.06 | 41.03 | 42.01 | 40.78 | 38.62 | 44.04 |
| Mixed | 32.16 | 42.08 | 34.18 | 32.34 | 35.01 | 36.63 | 37.44 |
| White | 38.48 | 39.50 | 40.74 | 41.20 | 40.54 | 40.49 | 41.27 |
| White Gypsy / Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Arab | 34.72 | 28.52 | 30.27 | 30.52 | 33.85 | 32.91 | 32.55 |
| Other | 30.18 | 33.65 | 37.57 | 39.20 | 39.09 | 36.64 | 36.31 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (‘very low’ anxiety)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (‘very low’ anxiety)’ (CSV)
Summary of Anxiety By ethnicity over time (‘very low’ anxiety) Summary
This data shows that:
- between 2012 and 2018, the percentage of people with ‘very low’ anxiety went up from 38.05% to 41.19%
- the percentage of White people with ‘very low’ anxiety went up from 38.48% to 41.27%
- there was a wide variation in responses within all other ethnic groups, so it’s not possible to draw firm conclusions about any apparent increases in ‘very low’ levels of anxiety
6. Methodology
This data presents the results from the question, ‘Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?’
People responded on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is ‘not at all’, and 10 is ‘completely’. Estimates show average ratings for each ethnic group, as well as thresholds.
The Annual Population Survey is a continuous household survey. Most people complete a survey in person first, and later by telephone.
Respondents are people aged 16 and over who are living in private households.
The sample is formed from:
- waves 1 and 5 of the Labour Force Survey (in which selected addresses are contacted every 3 months)
- boost cases that are in the sample for 4 waves, spread one year apart
Participants are randomly selected from:
- the Royal Mail postcode address file
- the NHS communal accommodation list
- telephone directories (only in remote parts of Scotland)
All eligible individuals found at the selected address may be interviewed.
Use caution when interpreting short-term trends in the data, especially for small groups. There is often a smaller number of respondents from ethnic minority backgrounds. This means their estimates can be less reliable than those for White people. They are also more likely to be affected by statistical variation.
There are different ways to measure someone's well-being. The APS includes evaluative, eudemonic, experience and individual wellbeing approaches.
This data involves the ‘experience approach’. This approach aims to measure people’s positive and negative experiences or mood over a short period of time. The question “Overall, how happy anxious you feel yesterday?” is a ‘negative affect’ question.
Thresholds show the percentage of responses that fall into 4 groups on a scale of 0 to 10:
- very low anxiety (scoring 0 to 1)
- low anxiety (scoring 2 to 3)
- medium anxiety (scoring 4 to 5)
- high anxiety (scoring 6 to 10)
Weighting:
The sample of around 150,000 respondents is weighted so that estimates are representative of the target population. Weighting is at local authority level and uses age and sex dimensions.
Each respondent has a 'weight', which signifies the number of people they 'represent' in the general population.
Weighting is updated whenever new population estimates become available.
Confidence intervals:
Download the data for confidence intervals for each ethnic group.
This page makes a reliable estimate of the percentage of people with varying levels of anxiety. But it’s impossible to be 100% certain of the true percentage.
It’s 95% certain that between 22.79% and 23.40% of all respondents reported low levels of anxiety in 2018. In statistical terms, this is a 95% confidence interval. This means that if 100 random samples were taken, then 95 times out of 100 the estimate would fall between 22.79% and 23.40%. But 5 times out of 100 it would fall outside this range.
The smaller the survey sample, the more uncertain the estimate and the wider the confidence interval. For example, there were fewer respondents from the Chinese ethnic group. As a result, there’s more uncertainty about their estimates, and a wider confidence interval. (It’s 95% certain that between 19.59% and 28.72% of people in the Chinese ethnic group reported low anxiety in 2018.)
All the differences noted in the text are statistically significant. The statistical significance of differences are determined where the 95% confidence intervals for two groups or time periods don't overlap. For example, the difference between the Indian ethnic group and the UK average in low anxiety was significant. The Indian ethnic group had a confidence interval of 34.3% and 39.3%, and the confidence interval for the UK average was between 39.8% and 40.6%.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Estimates are not shown if:
- they are based on fewer than 50 respondents
- the degree of variability of responses ('coefficient of variation') is greater than 20%
- the threshold numerator is based on a small number
Rounding
Average scores are rounded to 2 decimal places. Estimates of percentages within thresholds are also rounded to 2 decimal places.
Sample sizes are rounded to the nearest 10.
Comparisons are based on unrounded data.
Quality and methodology information
Further technical information
Labour force survey user guidance.
7. Data sources
Source
Personal well-being in the UK: July 2017 to June 2018
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Office for National Statistics collects well-being data to:
- monitor national well-being
- support government policy making
- give individuals data they can use to make informed decisions
- make comparisons between the UK and other countries
8. Download the data
measure, year, ethnicity, sex, threshold, mean, value, confidence intervals (upper bound, lower bound), sample size