Demographics of England explained

Place:	England
Size Of Population:	56,489,800 (2021)
Density:	^[1]
Fertility:	1.61 (2021)
Age 0-14 Years:	17.4% (2021)^[2]
Age 15-64 Years:	64.1%
Age 65 Years:	18.6%
Major Ethnic:	White: 81.0% White British: 73.5%^[3] (2021) White Irish: 0.9% Other White: 6.6%
Nation:	English (2021)
Spoken:	British English
Minor Ethnic:	Asian British: (9.7%) Black British: (4.2%) British Mixed: (2.9%) Other: (2.2%)

The demography of England has since 1801 been measured by the decennial national census, and is marked by centuries of population growth and urbanization. Due to the lack of authoritative contemporary sources, estimates of the population of England for dates prior to the first census in 1801 vary considerably. The population of England at the 2021 census was about 56,489,800.^[4]

Population

The population of England in 2021 was estimated to be 56,489,800.^{[4] [5]} This is the most recent census.^[4] In the previous census, in 2011, the population was 53,012,456.

Data for the 2021 census:

• Female: 28,833,712
• Male: 27,656,336
• Total population: 56,489,800 ^[6]
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.61 (2021)^[7]

Historical population

See also: Black Death, Domesday Book, Protestation Returns of 1642 and Compton Census.

Vital statistics

^[8] This is UK wide information.

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Fertility rates
1940		567,710	545,952	21,758	14.1	13.6	0.5
1941(c)		539,205	499,343	39,862	13.9	12.9	1.0
1942		608,373	448,777	159,596	15.6	11.5	4.1
1943		641,064	469,916	171,148	16.2	11.9	4.3
1944		704,748	461,189	243,559	17.7	11.6	6.1
1945		638,422	456,216	182,206	15.9	11.4	4.5
1946		773,153	460,543	312,610	19.2	11.4	7.8
1947		829,863	484,324	345,539	20.5	12.0	8.5
1948		728,131	439,803	288,328	17.9	10.8	7.1
1949		686,181	478,627	207,554	16.8	11.7	5.1
1950		654,321	477,006	177,315	15.5	11.3	4.2
1951(c)	41,164,356	636,259	513,375	122,884	15.5	12.5	3.0
1952		632,347	466,479	165,858	15.3	11.3	4.0
1953		642,844	472,137	170,707	15.5	11.3	4.2
1954		633,395	469,074	164,321	15.2	11.3	3.9
1955		628,935	484,926	144,009	15.0	11.7	3.3
1956		659,420	488,893	170,527	15.7	11.7	4.0
1957		681,736	482,174	199,562	16.1	11.5	4.6
1958		698,255	494,201	204,054	16.4	11.7	4.7
1959		706,239	495,517	210,722	16.5	11.6	4.9
1960		740,858	493,553	247,305	17.1	11.5	5.6
1961(c)	43,460,525	766,358	518,047	248,311	17.6	11.9	5.7
1962		793,354	523,855	269,499	18.0	12.0	6.0
1963		807,017	538,105	268,912	18.2	12.2	6.0
1964		828,470	501,991	326,479	18.5	11.3	7.2
1965		816,433	516,317	300,116	18.1	11.5	6.6
1966		804,957	528,981	275,976	17.7	11.8	5.9
1967		788,458	509,356	279,102	17.2	11.2	6.0
1968		775,065	541,862	233,203	16.9	11.9	5.0
1969		754,456	543,425	211,031	16.4	11.9	4.5
1970		741,999	540,196	201,803	16.0	11.6	4.4
1971(c)	46,411,700	740,099	532,445	207,654	15.9	11.5	4.4
1972	46,572,000	685,485	554,251	131,234	14.7	11.9	2.8
1973	46,686,000	638,356	549,876	88,480	13.7	11.8	1.9
1974	46,682,000	603,153	547,980	55,173	12.9	11.7	1.2
1975	46,674,000	568,900	545,444	23,456	12.2	11.7	0.5
1976	46,659,000	550,383	560,317	-9,934	11.8	12.0	-0.2
1977	46,639,000	536,953	538,652	-1,699	11.5	11.5	-0.0
1978	46,638,000	562,589	547,685	14,904	12.1	11.7	0.4
1979	46,698,000	601,316	554,840	46,476	12.9	11.9	1.0
1980	46,787,000	618,371	544,349	74,022	13.2	11.6	1.6
1981(c)	46,820,800	598,163	541,018	57,145	12.8	11.6	1.2
1982	46,777,000	589,711	544,984	44,727	12.6	11.7	0.9	1.76
1983	46,813,000	593,255	542,509	50,746	12.7	11.6	1.1	1.75
1984	46,912,000	600,573	531,314	69,259	12.8	11.3	1.5	1.75
1985	47,057,000	619,301	553,153	66,148	13.2	11.8	1.4	1.78
1986	47,187,000	623,609	544,545	79,064	13.2	11.5	1.7	1.76
1987	47,300,000	643,330	531,150	112,180	13.6	11.2	2.4	1.80
1988	47,412,000	654,353	535,553	118,800	13.8	11.3	2.5	1.82
1989	47,552,000	649,357	539,804	109,553	13.7	11.4	2.3	1.79
1990	47,699,000	666,920	528,920	138,000	14.0	11.1	3.9	1.83
1991(c)	47,875,000	660,806	533,980	126,826	13.8	11.2	2.6	1.81
1992	47,998,000	651,784	522,660	129,124	13.6	10.9	2.7	1.79
1993	48,102,000	636,473	540,904	95,569	13.2	11.2	2.0	1.76
1994	48,228,000	628,956	516,297	112,659	13.0	10.7	2.3	1.75
1995	48,383,000	613,257	529,038	84,219	12.7	10.9	1.8	1.71
1996	48,519,000	614,184	526,650	87,534	12.7	10.9	1.8	1.73
1997	48,664,000	608,202	521,598	86,604	12.5	10.7	1.8	1.73
1998	48,820,000	602,111	518,089	84,022	12.3	10.6	1.7	1.72
1999	49,032,000	589,468	517,119	72,349	12.0	10.5	1.5	1.69
2000	49,233,000	572,826	503,026	69,800	11.6	10.2	1.4	1.65
2001(c)	49,449,000	563,744	497,878	65,866	11.4	10.1	1.3	1.63
2002	49,679,000	565,709	500,792	64,917	11.4	10.1	1.3	1.64
2003	49,925,000	589,851	504,127	85,724	11.8	10.1	1.7	1.72
2004	50,194,000	607,184	480,717	126,467	12.1	9.6	2.5	1.77
2005	50,606,000	613,028	479,678	133,350	12.1	9.5	2.6	1.77
2006	50,965,000	635,748	470,326	165,422	12.5	9.2	3.3	1.83
2007	51,381,000	655,357	470,721	184,636	12.8	9.2	3.6	1.88
2008	51,815,000	672,809	475,763	197,046	13.0	9.2	3.8	1.92
2009	52,196,000	671,058	459,241	211,817	12.9	8.8	4.1	1.91
2010	52,642,000	687,007	461,017	225,990	13.1	8.8	4.3	1.94
2011(c)	53,107,000	688,120	452,862	235,258	13.0	8.5	4.5	1.93
2012	53,493,000	694,241	466,779	227,462	13.0	8.7	4.3	1.94
2013	53,865,000	664,517	473,552	190,965	12.3	8.8	3.5	1.85
2014	54,316,000	661,496	468,875	192,621	12.2	8.6	3.6	1.83
2015	54,786,000	664,399	495,309	169,090	12.1	9.0	3.1	1.82
2016	55,268,000	663,157	490,454	172,703	12.0	8.9	3.1	1.81
2017	55,619,000	646,794	498,882	147,912	11.6	9.0	2.6	1.76
2018	55,977,000	625,651	505,859	119,792	11.2	9.0	2.2	1.70
2019	56,287,000	610,505	488,952	121,553	10.8	8.7	2.1	1.66
2020	56,550,000	585,195	569,700	15,495	10.3	10.1	0.3	1.59
2021(c)	56,489,800	595,948	549,207	46,741	10.5	9.7	0.8	1.56
2022	57,106,398	577,046	540,333	36,713	10.2	9.5	0.7	1.49
2023	57,690,300		544,032			9.4

(c) = Census results.

In 2022, the percentage of live births where either one or both parents were born outside of the UK was 36.7%. 31.1% of all live births in England were to mothers born outside of the UK (9.8% born in the EU, 21.3% born outside of the EU).^[9]

Current vital statistics

^[10]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January - July 2023		329,171
January - July 2024		319,131
Difference		–10,040 (–3.15%)

Historical per cent distribution of the total population by age

^[11]

Ages	1901	1931	1951	1961
0–14 years	32	24	22	23
15–64 years	63	69	67	65
65 years and over	5	7	11	12
Total (%)	100	100	100	100

Country of birth

Country of birth given by respondents in the corresponding UK censuses were as follows:

Country of birth	1971^[12]		1981^[13]		1991^[14]		2001^[15]		2011^[16]		2021^[17]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
United Kingdom	41,951,042	91.3%	42,620,882	93.1%	43,506,411	92.46%	44,594,817	90.75%	45,675,317	86.16%	46,687,505	82.65%
	40,374,714	87.9%	41,084,399	89.8%	42,003,211	89.3%	42,968,596	87.44%	44,246,592	83.46%	45,388,724	80.35%
	716,499	1.6%	731,412	1.7%	743,856	1.58%	794,577	1.62%	708,872	1.34%	626,443	1.11%
	632,548	1.4%	573,014	1.3%	545,381	1.16%	609,711	1.24%	506,619	0.96%	478,697	0.85%
	227,281	0.5%	–	–	211,133	0.45%	215,124	0.44%	206,735	0.39%	190,541	0.34%
United Kingdom (not otherwise specified)	–	–	232,057		2,830	0.01%	6,809	0.01%	6,499	0.01%	2,612
Europe (non-UK)	1,217,245	2.7%	1,142,182	2.4%	1,196,524	2.5%	1,450,260	2.95%	2,375,441	4.5%	4,042,538	7.16%
Ireland	647,429	1.4%	567,021	1.3%	555,805	1.18%	460,287	0.94%	395,182	0.75%	314,674	0.56%
Channel Islands & Isle of Man	–	–	–	–	26,303	0.06%	27,550	0.06%	24,653	0.05%
Total born in all EU Member Countries (excluding Ireland)	569,816^[18]	1.2%	340,113	0%	452,092	1%	660,061	1.34%	1,980,259	3.73%	3,236,799	5.73%
EU Member Countries (joined pre 2001) or EEC Members	–	–	340,113		452,092	1%	–	–	894,908	1.69%	1,263,707	2.24%
Germany	–	–	–	–	193,346	0.41%	233,418	0.48%	262,356	0.49%	252,252	0.45%
Italy	–	–	–	–	83,724	0.18%	98,757	0.20%	131,195	0.25%	272,019	0.48%
France	–	–	–	–	49,947	0.11%	87,562	0.18%	127,601	0.24%	152,697	0.27%
Spain	–	–	–	–	37,006	0.08%	50,431	0.10%	77,554	0.15%	163,848	0.29%
Other EU Member Countries (joined post-2001)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,085,351	2.04%	1,973,092	3.49%
Poland	–	–	–	–	68,049	0.14%	56,679	0.12%	561,098	1.06%	718,251	1.27%
Romania	–	–	–	–	3,762	0.01%	7,077	0.01%	78,192	0.15%	530,320	0.94%
Other non-EU Europe	–	–	235,048	0.5%	115,247	0.2%	–	–	–	–	491,065	0.87%
Turkey	–	–	–	–	26,016	0.06%	52,402	0.11%	89,484	0.17%	124,758	0.22%
	–	–	–	–	25,235	0.05%	27,250	0.06%	–	–	–	–
Africa	148,473	0.3%	278,678	0.6%	456,396	1%	798,218	1.62%	1,290,611	2.43%	1,558,199	2.76%
South Africa	–	–	–	–	21,220	0.05%	129,302	0.26%	186,355	0.35%	211,447	0.37%
Kenya	–	–	–	–	109,610	0.23%	126,119	0.26%	135,966	0.26%	133,416	0.24%
Nigeria	–	–	–	–	45,873	0.10%	86,370	0.18%	188,690	0.36%	266,877	0.47%
Middle East and Asia	522,263	1.1%	727,838	1.6%	1,108,529	2.4%	1,778,296	3.62%	2,529,137	4.77%	3,241,701	5.74%
India	301,862	0.7%	378,721	0.9%	395,563	0.84%	450,493	0.92%	682,274	1.29%	906,962	1.61%
Pakistan	131,826	0.3%	179,712	0.4%	221,776	0.47%	304,706	0.62%	476,684	0.90%	616,454	1.09%
Bangladesh			46,873	0.1%	101,829	0.22%	150,057	0.31%	206,331	0.39%	266,290	0.47%
Sri Lanka	15,366		–	–	38,145	0.08%	66,330	0.13%	125,917	0.24%	141,861	0.25%
Far East	73,209		122,532	0.3%	–	–	360,604	0.73%	–	–	–	–
Hong Kong	–	–	–	–	64,496	0.14%	84,770	0.17%	98,724	0.19%	117,714	0.21%
China	–	–	–	–	21,292	0.05%	47,201	0.10%	146,202	0.28%	176,072	0.31%
Americas and Caribbean	292,966	0.6%	291,679	0.6%	481,299	1%	–	–	663,091	1.25%	790,002	1.40%
United States	–	–	–	–	128,337	0.27%	141,198	0.29%	173,470	0.33%	198,656	0.35%
Jamaica	–	–	–	–	141,352	0.30%	145,234	0.30%	159,170	0.30%	141,289	0.25%
Canada	–	–	–	–	53,195	0.11%	59,356	0.12%	66,320	0.13%	66,847	0.12%
Antarctica and Oceania	–	–	–	–	104,141	0.2%	–	–	179,200	0.34%	170,023	0.30%
Australia	–	–	–	–	66,279	0.14%	96,437	0.20%	113,592	0.21%	109,963	0.19%
New Zealand	–	–	–	–	37,862	0.08%	53,466	0.11%	57,076	0.11%	47,842	0.08%
Other: Old Commonwealth^[19]	119,683	0.3%	133,220	0.3%	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other: New Commonwealth^[20]	109,971	0.2%	155,389	0.3%	147,602	0.3%	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other Countries (non Europe or UK for 2001–2021)	482,351	1%	421,895	0.9%	–	–	3,093,754	6.30%	4,961,698	9.36%	5,760,008	10.20%
Total	45,917,667	100%	45,771,763	100%	47,055,204	100%	49,138,831	100.00%	53,012,456	100.00%	56,490,051	100%

Below are the estimates of the largest foreign-born groups in England according to ONS estimates.

Country of birth	2013	2014^[21]	2015	2018^[22]
India
Poland
Pakistan
Ireland
Germany

Age

The data below is based on the 2011 census.^[23] In 2001, the mean age of England's population was 38.60, and the median age was 37.00. In 2022, the median age was 40.5.^[24]

Ages attained (years)	Population	% of total population	% per year of age band
0–4	3,318,449	6.26	1.25
5–9	2,972,632	5.61	1.12
10–14	3,080,929	5.81	1.16
15–19	3,340,265	6.30	1.26
20–24	3,595,321	6.78	1.36
25–29	3,650,881	6.89	1.38
30–34	3,509,221	6.62	1.32
35–39	3,549,116	6.69	1.34
40–44	3,885,934	7.33	1.47
45–49	3,879,815	7.32	1.46
50–54	3,400,095	6.41	1.28
55–59	2,996,992	5.65	1.13
60–64	3,172,277	5.98	1.20
65–69	2,508,154	4.73	0.95
70–74	2,044,129	3.86	0.77
75–79	1,669,345	3.15	0.63
80–84	1,258,773	2.37	0.47
85–89	776,311	1.46	0.29
90+	403,817	0.76	–

Ethnicity

Ethnic group (reported as 'Area of origin')! colspan="2" rowspan="2"

1951^[25]	1961		1966				mid-1968
Estimates based solely off of immigrant population			Total estimated (including estimates of those born in the UK)^[26]
Population	%	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%
White: Total	43,683,500	99.83%	45,769,000	99.28%	46,540,500	98.73%	46,211,500	98.04%	–	–
Non-White: Total	74,500	0.17%	336,000	0.72%	595,000	1.27%	924,000	1.96%	1,123,000	–
India	30,800		81,400		163,600		223,000		–	–
Pakistan	5,000		24,900		67,700		199,700		–	–
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)	5,800		9,000		12,900		16,100		–	–
West Indies	15,300		171,800		267,900		–	–	–	–
Jamaica	–	–	–	–	–	–	278,000		–	–
Other Caribbean	–	–	–	–	–	–	180,300		–	–
British West Africa (Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)	5,600		19,800		36,000		50,700		–	–
Far East (Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore)	12,000		29,600		47,000		60,000		–	–
Total population	43,758,000	100%	46,105,000	100%	47,135,500	100%	47,135,500	100%	–	–

Ethnic group! colspan="10"

Year
1981 estimations^[27]		1991^[28] ^[29]		2001^[30]		2011^[31]		2021^[32]
Population	%	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%
White Total	–	95.4%	44,144,339	93.8%	44,679,361	91%	45,281,142	85.4%	45,783,401	81%
	–	–	–	–	42,747,136	87.0%	42,279,236	79.8%	41,540,791	73.5%
	–	–	–	–	624,115	1.3%	517,001	1.0%	494,251	0.9%
White: Irish Traveller/White Gypsy	–	–	–	–	–	–	54,895	0.1%	64,218	0.1%
White: Roma	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	99,138	0.2%
	–	–	–	–	1,308,110	2.7%	2,430,010	4.6%	3,585,003	6.3%
Asian or Asian British: Total	–	2.65%	1,762,262	3.7%	2,468,970	5%	4,143,403	7.8%	5,426,392	9.7%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	–	1.32%	823,821	1.8%	1,028,546	2.1%	1,395,702	2.6%	1,843,248	3.3%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	–	0.7%	449,646	1.0%	706,539	1.4%	1,112,282	2.1%	1,570,285	2.8%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	–	0.18%	157,881	0.3%	275,394	0.6%	436,514	0.8%	629,567	1.1%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese^[33]	–	0.22%	141,661	0.3%	220,681	0.5%	379,502	0.7%	431,165	0.8%
Asian or Asian British: Asian Other	–	0.23%	189,253	0.4%	237,810	0.5%	819,403	1.6%	952,127	1.7%
Black or Black British: Total	–	1.51%	874,882	1.9%	1,132,508	2.3%	1,846,614	3.5%	2,381,724	4.2%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	–	0.91%	495,682	1.1%	561,246	1.1%	591,016	1.1%	619,419	1.1%
Black or Black British: African	–	0.3%	206,918	0.4%	475,938	1.0%	977,741	1.8%	1,468,474	2.6%
	–	0.3%	172,282	0.4%	95,324	0.2%	277,857	0.5%	293,831	0.5%
British Mixed Total	–	–	–	–	643,373	1.3%	1,192,879	2.3%	1,669,378	2.9%
Mixed: White and Caribbean	–	–	–	–	231,424	0.5%	415,616	0.8%	499,310	0.9%
Mixed: White and African	–	–	–	–	76,498	0.2%	161,550	0.3%	241,528	0.4%
Mixed: White and Asian	–	–	–	–	184,014	0.4%	332,708	0.6%	474,190	0.8%
Mixed: Other Mixed	–	–	–	–	151,437	0.3%	283,005	0.3%	454,350	0.8%
Other: Total	–	0.44%	273,721	0.6%	214,619	0.4%	548,418	1.0%	1,229,153	2.2%
Other: Arab	–	–	–	–	–	–	220,985	0.4%	320,203	0.6%
Other: Any other ethnic group	–	0.44%	273,721	0.6%	214,619	0.4%	327,433	0.6%	908,950	1.6%
Non-White: Total	–	4.6%	2,910,865	6.2%	4,459,470	9%	7,731,314	14.6%	10,706,647	19%
Total	–	100%	47,055,204	100%	49,138,831	100%	53,012,456	100%	56,490,048	100%

Notes for table above

1. Web site: Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk.
2. Web site: Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021. GOV.UK.
3. Web site: Create a custom dataset - Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk.
4. Web site: Population and household estimates, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics . 2022-06-28 . www.ons.gov.uk.
5. Web site: Population estimates - Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk.
6. Web site: Custom dataset - Office for National Statistics . Office for National Statistics . 21 March 2021 . 8 June 2023 .
7. Web site: National Statistics Online – Live births . Statistics.gov.uk . 9 August 2022.
8. Web site: Vital Statistics: Population and Health Reference Tables. Office for National Statistics. 20 July 2017.
9. Web site: Births by parents' country of birth, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk. 22 September 2023.
10. Web site: Deaths registered monthly in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk.
11. Book: Trends in British Society since 1900. A. H. Halsey. Palgrave MacMillan. 1972. 978-1-349-00780-6.
12. Taken from Casweb UK Data Service from the 1971 UK wide Census. SAS08 of Country of Birth of England.
13. Taken from Casweb UK Data Service from the 1981 UK wide Census. Table 4 of Country of Birth in England.
14. Web site: 1991 census - local base statistics . Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics . 14 June 2023. Tables L01 to L18: Demographic and economic characteristics > L07 Country of birth
15. Web site: UV008:Country of birth . Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics . 30 August 2013.
16. Web site: QS213EW: Country of birth (expanded) . Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics . 26 March 2013.
17. Web site: TS012: Country of birth (detailed) . Office for National Statistics . 28 March 2023.
18. Figure accounts for all of Europe apart from Ireland
19. Used as main option for when no other options are given, for example in 1971. This group contains all for Canada, Australia and New Zealand
20. Used as a conglomerate for New Commonwealth for when there are no other options as for example in 1971. This group contains all for remenents of the British Empire after 1945 (if not already indicated).
21. Web site: Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2014 to December 2014. Office for National Statistics. 27 August 2015. 17 April 2016. Figures given are the central estimates. See the source for 95 per cent confidence intervals.
22. Web site: Population by country of birth and nationality. January 2018 to December 2018. ons.gov.uk.
23. Web site: UK Statistics . 2011 Census: Usual resident population by five-year age group and sex, United Kingdom and constituent countries . UK Statistics . 27 March 2011 . 19 December 2012.
24. Web site: Median age of population in England . 15 April 2024 .
25. Estimates taken solely from the immigrant population at the time excluding estimates of those that were white from these areas.
26. Estimates are taken from a combined estimate of the immigrant population (excluding estimates of white people), additional non-white people who may not have been enumerated, and estimates of non-white people born in the UK from parents from shown areas
27. Rees . Phil . Butt . Faisal . 2004 . Ethnic Change and Diversity in England, 1981-2001 . Area . 36 . 2 . 174–186 . 10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00213.x . 20004380 . 2004Area...36..174R . 0004-0894.
28. Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England (Table 6)
29. The number of people who answered the census may not equal the estimated population total at the time due to the fact an estimated 1 million people did not answer the form.
30. Web site: Key Statistics for local authorities; Ethnic Statistics for England and Wales. live. 2022-01-07. webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20210907112520/https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls . 7 September 2021 .
31. Web site: Key Statistics for England and Wales: Ethnic statistics. live. 2022-01-07. webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20210808112341/https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls . 8 August 2021 .
32. Web site: Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics . 2022-11-29 . www.ons.gov.uk.
33. In 2001, listed under the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' heading.

Ethnicity of school pupils

The ethnicity of school pupils in England has been changing since the figures started to be collected in 2002, White British students proportionally have been in decline compared to other groups who have risen.

Ethnic group	School year^[34] ^[35]
	1997^[36]		2004		2008		2010		2014		2015/16		2017/18		2019/20		2021/22		2023/24
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
White Total	5,976,100	89%	5,584,800	82.9%	5,389,340	81.3%	5,243,870	79.9%	5,222,070	76.9%	5,258,582	75.6%	6,027,781	74%	6,048,980	72.8%	6,011,045	71.4%	5,877,640	69.1%
White: British	–	–	5,408,700	80.3%	5,136,610	77.4%	4,963,110	75.6%	4,859,730	71.6%	4,822,332	69.3%	5,454,108	66.9%	5,432,991	65.4%	5,379,748	63.9%	5,212,524	61.3%
White: Irish	–	–	26,100	0.3%	23,620	0.4%	22,190	0.3%	21,640	0.3%	21,127	0.3%	23,110	0.3%	22,443	0.3%	21,495	0.3%	20,677	0.2%
White: Roma	–	–	6,500	0.1%	3,940	0.1%	4,000	0.1%	4,625	0.1%	22,092	0.3%	26,653	0.3%	28,091	0.3%	27,359	0.3%	28,594	0.3%
White: Irish Traveller	–	–	3,900	0.1%	8,770	0.1%	10,990	0.2%	19,030	0.3%	4,975	0.1%	6,008	0.1%	6,578	0.1%	6,903	0.1%	6,798	0.1%
White: Other	–	–	139,600	2.1%	216,410	3.3%	243,580	3.7%	317,055	4.7%	388,056	5.6%	517,902	6.4%	558,877	6.7%	575,540	6.8%	609,047	7.2%
Asian / Asian British Total	–	–	476,900	7.1%	536,420	8.1%	575,670	8.8%	676,920	10.0%	755,817	10.8%	937,983	11.4%	985,795	11.9%	1,040,541	12.3%	1,129,383	13.4%
Asian / Asian British: Indian	–	–	154,400	2.3%	161,150	2.4%	163,780	2.5%	180,995	2.7%	196,351	2.8%	247,280	3.0%	268,318	3.2%	289,179	3.4%	337,382	4.0%
Asian / Asian British: Pakistani	–	–	180,600	2.7%	214,210	3.2%	231,380	3.5%	273,465	4.0%	293,089	4.2%	360,554	4.4%	372,699	4.5%	380,781	4.5%	388,315	4.6%
Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi	–	–	72,000	1.1%	87,320	1.3%	95,420	1.5%	110,735	1.6%	117,004	1.7%	143,379	1.8%	148,290	1.8%	151,613	1.8%	151,875	1.8%
Asian / Asian British: Chinese	–	–	23,700	0.4%	24,780	0.4%	24,690	0.4%	26,725	0.4%	28,915	0.4%	36,196	0.4%	37,732	0.5%	48,396	0.6%	63,774	0.8%
Asian / Asian British: Other Asians	–	–	46,200	0.7%	73,770	1.1%	85,080	1.3%	111,720	1.6%	120,458	1.7%	150,574	1.8%	158,756	1.9%	170,572	2.0%	188,037	2.2%
Black / Black British Total	–	–	244,900	3.6%	292,860	4.4%	312,260	4.8%	366,130	5.4%	389,585	5.5%	464,367	5.7%	474,570	5.7%	486,517	5.8%	551,099	6.5%
Black: Caribbean	–	–	96,100	1.4%	92,090	1.4%	91,400	1.4%	89,350	1.3%	85,830	1.2%	91,429	1.1%	86,543	1.0%	82,402	1.0%	78,817	0.9%
Black: African	–	–	120,900	1.8%	167,990	2.5%	184,790	2.8%	232,065	3.4%	253,781	3.6%	311,012	3.8%	323,874	3.9%	338,614	4.0%	406,246	4.8%
Black: Other Blacks	–	–	27,900	0.4%	32,770	0.5%	36,070	0.5%	44,710	0.7%	49,974	0.7%	61,926	0.8%	64,153	0.8%	65,501	0.8%	66,036	0.8%
Mixed / British Mixed	–	–	181,500	2.7%	229,650	3.5%	256,980	3.9%	325,140	4.8%	363,730	5.3%	473,305	5.8%	515,061	6.1%	558,184	6.6%	594,344	7.0%
Mixed: White and Caribbean	–	–	64,600	1.0%	77,350	1.2%	82,410	1.3%	95,785	1.4%	101,278	1.5%	123,873	1.5%	128,774	1.5%	133,504	1.6%	134,384	1.6%
Mixed: White and African	–	–	17,000	0.3%	24,110	0.4%	27,860	0.4%	40,245	0.6%	47,472	0.7%	63,518	0.8%	70,403	0.8%	76,262	0.9%	79,940	0.9%
Mixed: White and Asian Other	–	–	36,300	0.5%	47,510	0.7%	54,610	0.8%	73,555	1.1%	84,133	1.2%	111,811	1.4%	123,153	1.5%	134,821	1.6%	143,206	1.7%
Mixed: Other Mixed	–	–	63,500	0.9%	80,680	1.2%	92,110	1.4%	115,560	1.7%	130,847	1.9%	174,103	2.1%	192,731	2.3%	213,597	2.5%	236,814	2.8%
Other: Total	–	–	57,900	0.9%	78,560	1.2%	86,880	1.3%	106,115	1.6%	119,647	1.7%	154,575	1.9%	168,758	2.0%	185,355	2.2%	203,561	2.4%
Unclassified	–	–	190,700	2.8%	81,300	1.2%	64,610	1.0%	67,935	1.0%	67,126	1.0%	94,312	1.2%	119,388	1.4%	136,371	1.6%	141,908	1.7%
Total:	6,716,700	100%	6,736,700	100%	6,632,900	100%	6,564,940	100%	6,791,030	100%	6,954,487	100%	8,152,323	100%	8,312,552	100%	8,418,013	100%	8,497,935	100%

Languages

The most common main languages spoken in England according to the 2011 census are shown below.^[37]

Rank	Language	Usual residents aged 3+	Proportion
1		46,936,780	92.02%
2		529,173	1.04%
3		271,580	0.53%
4		266,330	0.52%
5	Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)	216,196	0.42%
6		212,217	0.42%
7		152,490	0.30%
8		145,026	0.28%
9		131,002	0.26%
10		118,554	0.23%
11		99,773	0.20%
12		98,083	0.19%
13		90,547	0.18%
14		84,387	0.17%
15		84,327	0.17%
16		75,190	0.15%
17		75,179	0.15%
18		67,593	0.13%
19		66,496	0.13%
20		66,271	0.13%
–		8,248	0.02%
–		554	0.00%
–	Other	1,209,614	2.37%
	Population	51,005,610	100.00%

Religion

See main article: Religion in England.

Respondents to the 2001, 2011 and 2021 censuses gave their religions as follows:

Religion	2001^[38]		2011^[39]		2021^[40]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Christian	35,251,244	71.74%	31,479,876	59.38%	26,167,899	46.3
Muslim	1,524,887	3.10%	2,660,116	5.02%	3,801,186	6.7
Hindu	546,982	1.11%	806,199	1.52%	1,032,533	1.8
Sikh	327,343	0.67%	420,196	0.79%	520,092	0.9
Jewish	257,671	0.52%	261,282	0.49%	269,283	0.5
Buddhist	139,046	0.28%	238,626	0.45%	262,433	0.5
Other religion	143,811	0.29%	227,825	0.43%	332,410	0.6
No religion	7,171,332	14.59%	13,114,232	24.74%	20,715,664	36.7
Religion not stated	3,776,515	7.69%	3,804,104	7.18%	3,400,548	6.0
Total population	49,138,831	100.00%	53,012,456	100.00%	56,490,048	100.0

See also

• Demographics of the United Kingdom
• Demographics of Scotland
• Demographics of Wales
• Demographics of Northern Ireland
• Demographics of London
• Demographics of Birmingham
• Demographics of Greater Manchester
• United Kingdom Census 2011
• National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
• Census 2001 Ethnic Codes
• List of English districts by population
• List of urban areas in England by population
• List of towns and cities in England by historical population
• List of major settlements by population in English counties

External links

• National Statistics
• Populstat population figure site – main source for 1801–1991
• Genealogical documents