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Contents
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to Place of birth (UK or non-UK) by ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to Ethnic groups by region of birth section
- 5. Navigate to Top 10 countries of birth outside the UK section
- 6. Navigate toData sources section
- 7. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- 13.4% of people in England and Wales (7.5 million people) were born outside the UK, according to the 2011 Census
- 1.2% of the population was born in India (694,000 people), 1.0% in Poland (579,000 people), and 0.9% in Pakistan (482,000 people)
- in the 10 years between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, the percentage of the non-UK born population that was born in Poland increased from 1.3% to 7.7% (from 58,000 to 579,000 people)
- 93.0% of people in the White ethnic group were born in the UK (the highest percentage out of all broad ethnic groups), followed by 80.6% of people with Mixed ethnicity, 46.9% of people in the Black group, 42.0% of people in the Asian group, and 29.8% of people in the Other ethnic group
- just over half (50.3%) of people in the broad Asian ethnic group were born in Asia or the Middle East, rising to 71.3% for people in the specific Chinese ethnic group
- 61.4% of people with Black African ethnicity were born in Africa, while 37.9% of those with Black Caribbean ethnicity were born in the Americas (including the Caribbean)
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
This data shows the country of birth for people living in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census.
The data only includes people who, at the time of the 2011 Census:
- had been living in the UK for at least 12 months
- had a permanent UK address but were living outside the UK for less than 12 months
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Read more about the 2011 Census.
Not included in the data
The 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.
A person’s place of birth does not always indicate their ethnicity. There is often a connection, for example:
- most people born in India were in the Indian ethnic group in the 2011 Census
- most people born in Jamaica were in the Black Caribbean ethnic group
3. Place of birth (UK or non-UK) by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Non-UK | UK |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| All | 13.4 | 86.6 |
| Asian | 58.0 | 42.0 |
| Bangladeshi | 48.1 | 51.9 |
| Chinese | 76.3 | 23.7 |
| Indian | 57.1 | 42.9 |
| Pakistani | 43.9 | 56.1 |
| Asian other | 75.2 | 24.8 |
| Black | 53.2 | 46.8 |
| Black African | 67.3 | 32.7 |
| Black Caribbean | 39.9 | 60.1 |
| Black other | 31.6 | 68.4 |
| Mixed | 19.5 | 80.5 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 20.8 | 79.2 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 31.8 | 68.2 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 6.0 | 94.0 |
| Mixed other | 30.9 | 69.1 |
| White | 7.1 | 92.9 |
| White British | 2.1 | 97.9 |
| White Irish | 66.6 | 33.4 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 12.2 | 87.8 |
| White other | 85.5 | 14.5 |
| Other | 70.1 | 29.9 |
| Arab | 72.4 | 27.6 |
| Any other | 68.6 | 31.4 |
Download table data for ‘Place of birth (UK or non-UK) by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Place of birth (UK or non-UK) by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of People born outside the UK Place of birth (UK or non-UK) by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- at the time of the 2011 Census, 92.9% of people in the White ethnic group were born in the UK (the highest percentage out of all broad ethnic groups), followed by 80.5% of people with Mixed ethnicity, 46.8% of Black people, 42.0% of people in the Asian group, and 29.9% of people in the Other ethnic group
- out of all specific ethnic groups, the White British group had the highest percentage of people born in the UK (at 97.9%), followed by Mixed White and Black Caribbean (94.0%) and Gypsy/Roma (87.8%)
- the Other White group had the lowest percentage of people born in the UK, at 14.5%
4. Ethnic groups by region of birth
| Ethnicity | Africa | Antarctica and Oceania (including Australasia) | Asia and Middle East | EU countries at 2001 Census | EU countries that joined between 2001 and 2011 | Rest of Europe | Ireland | The Americas and the Caribbean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 2.3 | 0.3 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Asian | 5.3 | 0.2 | 50.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Bangladeshi | 0.3 | 0.0 | 46.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Chinese | 1.1 | 0.6 | 71.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| Indian | 11.9 | 0.2 | 43.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Pakistani | 0.7 | 0.0 | 41.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Asian other | 5.1 | 0.3 | 65.1 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
| Black | 35.4 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 13.5 |
| Black African | 61.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 37.9 |
| Black other | 17.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 6.9 |
| Mixed | 4.5 | 0.5 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 4.2 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 1.3 | 0.5 | 12.4 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 20.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.9 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| Mixed other | 5.7 | 1.4 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 9.0 |
| White | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| White British | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| White Irish | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 62.1 | 1.1 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 7.0 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 0.3 |
| White other | 4.4 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 21.4 | 38.3 | 7.6 | 0.4 | 7.5 |
| Other | 14.8 | 0.9 | 35.2 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 7.2 |
| Arab | 22.0 | 0.3 | 42.3 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Any other | 9.9 | 1.3 | 30.2 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 0.4 | 11.0 |
Download table data for ‘Ethnic groups by region of birth’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Ethnic groups by region of birth’ (CSV)
Summary of People born outside the UK Ethnic groups by region of birth Summary
This analysis uses the following regional groupings:
- the EU at the time of the 2001 Census: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK
- countries that joined the EU between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
- the rest of Europe: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Switzerland, Ukraine, Vatican City
- Africa
- the Middle East and Asia
- North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean
- Australasia, Oceania and Antarctica (including Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea)
- Ireland
This data shows that:
- at the time of the 2011 Census, 4.8% of the population of England and Wales was born in Europe (not including the UK), 4.6% was born in Asia and the Middle East, 2.3% in Africa, 1.2% in the Americas, and 0.3% in Australasia
- just over half (50.3%) of people in the Asian ethnic group were born in Asia or the Middle East; this figure rose to 71.3% for those in the Chinese specific ethnic group
- 61.4% of people in the Black African ethnic group were born in Africa, while 37.9% of people in the Black Caribbean group were born in the Americas (including the Caribbean)
- over one-third (38.3%) of people in the Other White ethnic group were born in the ‘accession’ countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007
5. Top 10 countries of birth outside the UK
| Country | 2001 Census | % non-UK born residents in 2001 | 2011 Census | % non-UK born residents in 2011 | % all residents in 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 456,000 | 9.8 | 694,000 | 9.2 | 1.2 |
| Poland | 58,000 | 1.3 | 579,000 | 7.7 | 1.0 |
| Pakistan | 308,000 | 6.6 | 482,000 | 6.4 | 0.9 |
| Republic of Ireland | 473,000 | 10.2 | 407,000 | 5.4 | 0.7 |
| Germany | 244,000 | 5.2 | 274,000 | 3.6 | 0.5 |
| Bangladesh | 153,000 | 3.3 | 212,000 | 2.8 | 0.4 |
| Nigeria | 87,000 | 1.9 | 191,000 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| South Africa | 132,000 | 2.8 | 191,000 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| United States | 144,000 | 3.1 | 177,000 | 2.4 | 0.3 |
| Jamaica | 146,000 | 3.1 | 160,000 | 2.1 | 0.3 |
| All other non-UK born | 2,435,000 | 52.5 | 4,138,000 | 55.1 | 7.4 |
| Total non-UK born | 4,636,000 | 100.0 | 7,505,000 | 100.0 | 13.4 |
Download table data for ‘Top 10 countries of birth outside the UK’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Top 10 countries of birth outside the UK’ (CSV)
Summary of People born outside the UK Top 10 countries of birth outside the UK Summary
This data shows that:
- at the time of the 2011 Census, 7.5 million people resident in England and Wales were born outside the UK (around 13.4% of the population)
- 1.2% of the population was born in India (694,000 people), 1.0% in Poland (579,000 people), and 0.9% in Pakistan (482,000 people)
- in the 10 years between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, the percentage of the non-UK born population that was born in Poland increased from 1.3% to 7.7% (from 58,000 to 579,000 people) – this reflects the immigration patterns seen after Poland joined the EU in 2004
- in the same period, the percentage of the non-UK born population that was born in Ireland went down from 10.2% to 5.4% (from 473,000 to 407,000 people)
6. 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 is carried out every 10 years. Data from the March 2021 Census will not be available until 2022, so 2011 Census data is used instead.
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 it can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.
7. Download the data
People born outside the UK
- Spreadsheet
(csv)
43 KB
This file contains the following variables: Ethnic group, Country of birth, Value, Geography, Source, Period