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- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity and sex section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and area section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity, sex and age section
- 7. Navigate to Other languages spoken section
- 8. Navigate toData sources section
- 9. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- at the 2011 Census, more than 90% of people in England and Wales said English was their first language
- 1.3% of the population of England and Wales (726,000 people) could speak English but not well, and 0.3% of the population (138,000 people) reported that they could not speak English at all
- Polish was the most commonly spoken language after English
- after White British people, people from a Black Caribbean background were the ethnic group most likely to speak English as their main language
- people from a Bangladeshi ethnic background were the group most likely to not speak English well, or at all
- people from an Other White ethnic background were the group least likely to speak English as their main language
- 3 in 5 of those who couldn’t speak English well were female (Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were 5 times more likely than their male counterparts to speak no English at all)
- there were regional differences in the percentage of people who couldn’t speak English for most ethnic groups
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
This data measures:
- the percentage of people aged 3 and over in each ethnic group who speak English or Welsh as their main language
- how well people speak English, if it’s not their first language
- the number of people who speak the most common 11 languages in England and Wales
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Not included in the data
This data does not include households that did not answer the question about ethnicity.
94% of households completed the 2011 Census. Of those, 97% answered the question about ethnicity.
The data has been adjusted to take into account people and households who were not counted or counted incorrectly.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the 18 ethnic groups used in the 2011 Census.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
People completing the Census judged for themselves whether they spoke English very well, well, not very well, or not at all. Their English language skills were not tested.
People living in Wales were asked whether they spoke ‘English or Welsh’ or ‘Other’ (rather than just ‘English’ or ‘Other’). Only respondents selecting ‘Other’ were then asked how well they spoke English, so for the purposes of this analysis Welsh speakers are grouped with English speakers.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Main language is English/Welsh | Other main language: could speak English very well or well | Other main language: could not speak English well | Other main language: could not speak English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 92.3 | 6.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| White British | 99.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Irish | 98.5 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 90.8 | 5.0 | 3.3 | 0.9 |
| Other White | 35.9 | 51.9 | 10.6 | 1.6 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 98.2 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 83.0 | 14.2 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 90.4 | 7.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| Other Mixed | 83.7 | 13.4 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
| Asian Indian | 63.4 | 29.2 | 6.0 | 1.4 |
| Asian Pakistani | 61.7 | 27.2 | 9.1 | 2.1 |
| Asian Bangladeshi | 47.9 | 36.0 | 13.2 | 3.0 |
| Asian Chinese | 44.4 | 40.4 | 13.0 | 2.3 |
| Asian other | 42.4 | 47.9 | 8.4 | 1.3 |
| Black African | 71.9 | 24.4 | 3.3 | 0.5 |
| Black Caribbean | 98.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Other Black | 82.3 | 14.3 | 2.8 | 0.5 |
| Arab | 40.8 | 48.5 | 8.9 | 1.8 |
| Any other | 47.0 | 41.7 | 9.6 | 1.6 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of English language skills By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
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98.5% of people from both Black Caribbean and White Irish backgrounds spoke English as their main language – a higher percentage than any other group after White British (99.7%), and considerably higher than the 92.3% average for England and Wales
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more than 6 in 10 people from an Indian or Pakistani background spoke English as their main language, and a further 3 in 10 didn't speak English as their main language but spoke it very well
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less than half (47.9%) of people from a Bangladeshi background spoke English as their main language, 13.2% spoke English but not well, and 3.0% didn’t speak English at all
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people from Other White backgrounds were the least likely to speak English as their main language (35.9% did so) and around 1 in 8 (12.2%) couldn’t speak English well, or at all
4. By ethnicity and sex
| Males | Females | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Males Could not speak English | Males Could not speak English well | Females Could not speak English | Females Could not speak English well |
| All | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| White British | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Irish | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 |
| Other White | 1.5 | 11.0 | 1.7 | 10.3 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 0.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| Other Mixed | 0.4 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 2.6 |
| Asian Indian | 0.6 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 8.1 |
| Asian Pakistani | 0.7 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 12.5 |
| Asian Bangladeshi | 1.1 | 9.7 | 5.0 | 16.9 |
| Asian Chinese | 2.1 | 13.4 | 2.4 | 12.6 |
| Asian other | 0.8 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 9.6 |
| Black African | 0.3 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Other Black | 0.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 3.8 |
| Arab | 1.1 | 6.6 | 2.8 | 12.1 |
| Any other | 1.1 | 8.0 | 2.2 | 11.5 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV)
Summary of English language skills By ethnicity and sex Summary
This data shows that:
- while just 1.6% of the population (863,000 people) couldn’t speak English well or at all, around 6 in 10 of these were girls or women (510,000 people)
- the Chinese ethnic group had the highest percentage of boys and men with poor English language skills, at 15.5%
- the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest percentage of girls and women with poor English language skills, at 21.9%
- the biggest gender differences in English language skills were in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups: 16.0% of Pakistani girls and women couldn’t speak English well or at all, compared with 6.5% of boys and men, while 21.9% of Bangladeshi girls and women couldn’t speak English well or at all, compared with 10.8% of boys and men
5. By ethnicity and area
| Ethnicity | North East | North West | Yorkshire and The Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | East of England | London | South East | South West | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White British | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Irish | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Other White | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Other Mixed | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Asian Indian | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Asian Pakistani | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Asian Bangladeshi | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 2.7 |
| Asian Chinese | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| Asian other | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Black African | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Other Black | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Arab | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.8 |
| Any other | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.3 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)
Summary of English language skills By ethnicity and area Summary
This data shows that:
-
overall, the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest percentage of people unable to speak English, with the highest percentages found in the West Midlands (3.5%), the North West (3.5%), Yorkshire and the Humber (3.5%) and London (3.1%)
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in general, across all ethnic groups, the lowest percentages of people unable to speak English were found in the East of England, South East and South West regions
6. By ethnicity, sex and age
| 3 to 9 years | 10 to 24 years | 25 to 44 years | 45 to 64 years | 65 years and over | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 3 to 9 years Males | 3 to 9 years Females | 10 to 24 years Males | 10 to 24 years Females | 25 to 44 years Males | 25 to 44 years Females | 45 to 64 years Males | 45 to 64 years Females | 65 years and over Males | 65 years and over Females |
| Asian | ||||||||||
| Bangladeshi | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 17.4 | 5.5 | 44.9 |
| Chinese | 2.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 11.5 | 22.8 |
| Indian | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 16.2 |
| Pakistani | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 9.0 | 3.9 | 31.0 |
| Asian other | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 12.4 |
| Black | ||||||||||
| Black African | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 10.2 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Black other | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 8.1 |
| Mixed | ||||||||||
| Mixed White/Asian | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.0 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 5.6 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Mixed other | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.7 |
| White | ||||||||||
| White British | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Irish | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| White other | 5.1 | 4.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 3.5 |
| Other | ||||||||||
| Arab | 4.4 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 17.5 |
| Any other | 2.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 12.5 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity, sex and age’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity, sex and age’ (CSV)
Summary of English language skills By ethnicity, sex and age Summary
This data shows that:
-
across most ethnic groups, women were more likely than men to be unable to speak English – and the likelihood increased with age
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44.9% of Bangladeshi women aged 65 and over (3,500 people) couldn’t speak English, making them the single group of people most likely to be unable to do so
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by comparison, only 5.5% of Bangladeshi males aged 65 and over, and 0.8% of female Bangladeshi children aged under 25, couldn’t speak English
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people in the Black Caribbean and Mixed White and Black Caribbean ethnic groups had similar (and very small) proportions of people who could not speak English, regardless of sex or age
7. Other languages spoken
| Language | '000s |
|---|---|
| English (English or Welsh in Wales) | 49,808 |
| Polish | 546 |
| Panjabi | 273 |
| Urdu | 269 |
| Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya) | 221 |
| Gujarati | 213 |
| Arabic | 159 |
| French | 147 |
| Chinese (other than Mandarin and Cantonese) | 141 |
| Portuguese | 133 |
| Spanish | 120 |
Download table data for ‘Other languages spoken’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Other languages spoken’ (CSV)
Summary of English language skills Other languages spoken Summary
This data shows that:
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Polish was the most commonly spoken language after English, with 546,000 people (1% of the population) reporting it as their main language
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after English and Polish, the most commonly spoken languages were Panjabi and Urdu, with 273,000 and 269,000 speakers respectively
8. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Every 10 years
Purpose of data source
The Census takes place every 10 years. Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.
9. Download the data
This file contains: Region code, Region name, Time, Gender, Age group, Ethnicity, Language proficiency, Count, Percentage