| Group: | Other White |
| Population: |  United Kingdom: 4,009,940 – 6.0% (2021/22 Census): 3,585,003 – 6.3% (2021)[1] : 254,336 – 4.7% (2022)[2] : 82,994 – 2.7% (2021) Northern Ireland: 87,607 – 4.6% (2021)[3] |
| Languages: | British English, Polish, Romanian, Italian |
| Rels: | Predominantly Christianity (60.4%); minority follows other faiths (6.0%) or are irreligious (25.3%) 2021 census, England and Wales only[4] |
| Related Groups: | White British, White Polish, Romanians in the United Kingdom, Italians in the United Kingdom |
The term Other White, or White Other, is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom, used in documents such as the 2021 United Kingdom Census, to describe people who identify as white persons who are not of the English, Welsh, Scottish, Roma, Irish or Irish Traveller ethnic groupings.[5] In Scotland, the term Other White is also used to refer collectively to those not of Scottish or Other British ethnicity, in which case it also includes those of a Gypsy, Roma, Irish or Irish Traveller background.[6]
The category does not comprise a single ethnic group; rather, it serves a means of identification for white individuals not represented by other white census categories. Consequently, the Other White group encompasses a diverse range of people, and includes those born in Britain and those born elsewhere.
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, those identifying as Other White in England & Wales enumerated 3,667,997, or 6.2% of the population.[7] [8] The largest represented ethnic groups in the Other White category were Poles (614,000 people) and Romanians (343,000 people).[9] In Scotland, the largest represented ethnic groups classed as Other White were Poles (61,000 people) and Irish (54,000 people).
In 2011, the Scottish Government introduced the category White Polish as a means of identifying the Polish diaspora in Scotland.
Along with White British and White Irish, the Other White category does not appear in Northern Ireland, where only one "White" classification was presented to respondents.[10]
| Region / Country | Population | Per cent of region | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3,585,003 | 6.35% | ||||||
| 1,290,838 | 14.67% | |||||||
| 586,569 | 6.32% | |||||||
| 429,599 | 6.78% | |||||||
| 258,438 | 5.30% | |||||||
| 257,594 | 4.52% | |||||||
| 253,487 | 3.42% | |||||||
| 248,565 | 4.18% | |||||||
| 208,130 | 3.80% | |||||||
| 51,783 | 1.96% | |||||||
| Scotland | 254,336 | 4.68% | ||||||
| Northern Ireland | 87,607 | 4.60% | ||||||
| Wales | 82,994 | 2.67% | ||||||
According to 2016 ONS Estimates, Other Whites enumerated 4,167,000, or 6.3% of the population in the United Kingdom.[11] However, their numbers, in line with a slight population decline in Polish and Romanian citizens in Britain, fell to 3,667,997 in England & Wales at the 2021 United Kingdom census.[12] [13]
In the 2001 UK Census, the majority of people living in England and Wales ticking the 'Other White' ethnic group specified their ethnicity as European.[14] Four out of five of the 'Other White' category (i.e. not British or Irish) were born overseas. Athird were born in a Western European country other than the UK, and one in seven were born in an Eastern European country.
Outside of Europe, countries derived from former British colonies such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States were among the top ten birthplaces (which included the UK itself). This suggested that, in 2001, significant numbers of Canadian Britons, Australian Briton, New Zealand Britons, American Britons and South African Britons, such as those born abroad to British parents and returned to the UK as minors, identified as White Other. It may also be that those who identify as white Canadians, white Australians, white New Zealanders, white Americans or white South Africans have migrated to the country as adults.[14]
| Religion | England and Wales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011[15] | 2021[16] | ||||
| Number | % | Number | % | ||
| Christianity | 1,617,833 | 65.08% | 2,202,595 | 60.05% | |
| No religion | 464,911 | 18.70% | 933,703 | 25.46% | |
| Islam | 131,056 | 5.27% | 131,425 | 3.58% | |
| Judaism | 39,319 | 1.58% | 49,125 | 1.34% | |
| Buddhism | 9,275 | 0.37% | 9,658 | 0.26% | |
| Hinduism | 4,740 | 0.19% | 1,368 | 0.04% | |
| Sikhism | 1,795 | 0.07% | 607 | 0.02% | |
| Other religions | 11,749 | 0.47% | 31,925 | 0.87% | |
| Not Stated | 205,134 | 8.25% | 307,587 | 8.39% | |
The Other White group is largely of working age, with only one in ten aged over 65 and one in seven under 16 at the time of the 2001 census. This does vary according to the stated country of birth, with people born in the UK being disproportionately young. Polish and Italian respondents had a larger proportion of over 65s,[14] which reflects the migration of Poles and Italians to Britain after the Second World War.
In 2019, the Other White group had a median hourly pay of £11.54 (8% less than the White British group).[17]
In 2021, the Other White group had an employment rate of 82% - the highest in England, Scotland and Wales.[18]
According to a 2022 Civitas report, Other White citizens have average wealth or assets of £53,200.[19]
| Ethnic group | Individual median wealth | |
|---|---|---|
| White British | £166,700 | |
| Indian | £144,400 | |
| Black Caribbean | £85,000 | |
| Chinese | £67,300 | |
| White Other | £53,200 | |
| Pakistani | £52,000 | |
| Bangladeshi | £22,800 | |
| Black African | £18,100 |
| Ethnic group within the White Other Group (in England and Wales) | 2021[20] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | % | ||
| White: European Mixed | 646,118 | 1.1 | |
| White: Polish | 614,344 | 1.0 | |
| White: Romanian | 342,651 | 0.6 | |
| White: Other White, White unspecified | 211,287 | 0.4 | |
| White: Other Eastern European | 166,179 | 0.3 | |
| White: Italian | 148,661 | 0.2 | |
| White: Lithuanian | 97,217 | 0.2 | |
| White: Portuguese | 93,608 | 0.2 | |
| White: Bulgarian | 89,546 | 0.2 | |
| White: North American | 82,985 | 0.1 | |
| White: Spanish | 81,150 | 0.1 | |
| White: French | 78,502 | 0.1 | |
| White: Greek | 73,719 | 0.1 | |
| White: German | 66,174 | 0.1 | |
| White: Hungarian | 65,697 | 0.1 | |
| White: Australian/New Zealander | 61,172 | 0.1 | |
| White: Turkish | 61,102 | 0.1 | |
| White: South African | 57,648 | 0.1 | |
| White: Latvian | 48,070 | 0.1 | |
| White: Russian | 44,662 | 0.1 | |
| White: Albanian | 40,879 | 0.1 | |
| White: Slovakian | 36,936 | 0.1 | |
| White: Jewish | 34,105 | 0.1 | |
| White: Hispanic or Latin American | 32,335 | 0.1 | |
| White: Greek Cypriot | 29,472 | 0.0 | |
| White: Czech | 25,023 | 0.0 | |
| White: Brazilian | 24,221 | 0.0 | |
| White: Dutch | 23,721 | 0.0 | |
| White: Any other ethnic group | 22,309 | 0.0 | |
| White: Other Mixed | 21,092 | 0.0 | |
| White: Mixed Irish | 20,278 | 0.0 | |
| White: White African | 20,273 | 0.0 | |
| White: Ukrainian | 16,297 | 0.0 | |
| White: Swedish | 16,132 | 0.0 | |
| White: Kosovan | 13,145 | 0.0 | |
| White: Danish | 9,453 | 0.0 | |
| White: Turkish Cypriot | 9,398 | 0.0 | |
| White: Serbian | 7,906 | 0.0 | |
| White: Finnish | 7,892 | 0.0 | |
| White: Belgian | 7,576 | 0.0 | |
| White: Iranian | 7,356 | 0.0 | |
| White: Swiss | 7,005 | 0.0 | |
| White: Croatian | 6,995 | 0.0 | |
| White: Norwegian | 6,814 | 0.0 | |
| White: South American | 6,600 | 0.0 | |
| White: Other Middle East | 6,527 | 0.0 | |
| White: Cypriot (part not stated) | 5,956 | 0.0 | |
| White: Austrian | 5,825 | 0.0 | |
| White: Estonian | 5,147 | 0.0 | |
| White: Kurdish | 5,091 | 0.0 | |
| White: Maltese | 4,971 | 0.0 | |
| White: Arab | 3,931 | 0.0 | |
| White: Armenian | 3,807 | 0.0 | |
| White: Slovenian | 3,719 | 0.0 | |
| White: White Caribbean | 3,469 | 0.0 | |
| White: Macedonian | 3,446 | 0.0 | |
| White: Other North African | 3,375 | 0.0 | |
| White: Moldovan | 3,207 | 0.0 | |
| White: Mixed White | 2,991 | 0.0 | |
| White: Israeli | 2,981 | 0.0 | |
| White: African unspecified | 2,805 | 0.0 | |
| White: Bosnian | 2,633 | 0.0 | |
| White: Belarusian | 2,522 | 0.0 | |
| White: Argentinian | 2,156 | 0.0 | |
| White: Georgian | 2,149 | 0.0 | |
| White: White and North African or Middle Eastern | 2,035 | 0.0 | |
| White: Colombian | 1,976 | 0.0 | |
| White: Zimbabwean | 1,803 | 0.0 | |
| White: Algerian | 1,776 | 0.0 | |