National identity (detailed)

Dataset ID:
TS028
Released:
Last updated:
— See version history
Important information:

The increase since the 2011 Census in people identifying as “British” and fall in people identifying as “English” may partly reflect true changes in self-perception. It is also likely to reflect that “British” replaced “English” as the first response option listed on the questionnaire in England.

Read more about this quality notice.

Summary

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by their national identity. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Variable and dataset information

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

  • country - for example, Wales
  • region - for example, London
  • local authority - for example, Cornwall
  • health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
  • statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

National identity (detailed)

Someone’s national identity is a self-determined assessment of their own identity, it could be the country or countries where they feel they belong or think of as home. It is not dependent on ethnic group or citizenship.

Respondents could select more than one national identity.

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Variables

Population type
All usual residents
Area type
Lower tier local authorities
Coverage
England and Wales
National identity (detailed)
73 Categories
  • UK identity: British only identity
  • UK identity: English only identity
  • UK identity: English and British only identity
  • UK identity: Welsh only identity
  • UK identity: Welsh and British only identity
  • UK identity: Scottish only identity
  • UK identity: Scottish and British only identity
  • UK identity: Northern Irish only identity
  • UK identity: Northern Irish and British only identity
  • UK identity: Cornish only identity
  • UK identity: Cornish and British only identity
  • UK identity: Any other combination of UK identities (UK only)
  • UK identity: Other identity and at least one UK identity
  • Other identity only: Guernsey Islander
  • Other identity only: Jersey Islander
  • Other identity only: Isle of Man (Manx)
  • Other identity only: Channel Islander not otherwise specified
  • Other identity only: Irish only identity
  • Other identity only: Irish and at least one UK identity
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: French
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: German
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Italian
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Portuguese
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Spanish (including Canary Islander)
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Other member countries in March 2001
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Lithuanian
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Polish
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Romanian
  • Other identity only: European: EU countries: Other member countries
  • Other identity only: European: Non-EU countries: Turkish
  • Other identity only: European: Non-EU countries: Other European
  • Other identity only: African: North African
  • Other identity only: African: Central and Western African: Ghanaian
  • Other identity only: African: Central and Western African: Nigerian
  • Other identity only: African: Central and Western African: Other Central and Western African
  • Other identity only: African: South and Eastern African: Kenyan
  • Other identity only: African: South and Eastern African: Somali
  • Other identity only: African: South and Eastern African: South African
  • Other identity only: African: South and Eastern African: Zimbabwean
  • Other identity only: African: South and Eastern African: Other South and Eastern African
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Middle Eastern: Kurdish
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Middle Eastern: Iranian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Middle Eastern: Iraqi
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Middle Eastern: Other Middle Eastern
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Eastern Asian: Chinese
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Eastern Asian: Hong Kong Chinese
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Eastern Asian: Japanese
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Eastern Asian: Other Eastern Asian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Afghan
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Bangladeshi
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Indian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Pakistani
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Sri Lankan
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Southern Asian: Other Southern Asian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: South-East Asian: Filipino
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: South-East Asian: Malaysian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: South-East Asian: Singaporean
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: South-East Asian: Other South-East Asian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Central Asian
  • Other identity only: Middle Eastern and Asian: Asian not otherwise specified
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: North American: Canadian
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: North American: US Citizen
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: North American: Other North American
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: Central American
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: South American
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: Caribbean: Jamaican
  • Other identity only: American and Caribbean: Caribbean: Other Caribbean
  • Other identity only: Antarctican and Oceanian: Australasian: Australian
  • Other identity only: Antarctican and Oceanian: Australasian: New Zealander
  • Other identity only: Antarctican and Oceanian: Australasian: Other Australasian
  • Other identity only: Antarctican and Oceanian: Other Oceanian
  • Other identity only: Other
  • Does not apply
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Protecting personal data

Sometimes we need to make changes to data if it is possible to identify individuals. This is known as statistical disclosure control.

In Census 2021, we:

  • swapped records (targeted record swapping), for example, if a household was likely to be identified in datasets because it has unusual characteristics, we swapped the record with a similar one from a nearby small area (very unusual households could be swapped with one in a nearby local authority)
  • added small changes to some counts (cell key perturbation), for example, we might change a count of four to a three or a five – this might make small differences between tables depending on how the data are broken down when we applied perturbation

Read more in Section 5 of our article Design for Census 2021.

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Version history

Release date Reason for update
Version superseded
Version superseded
Version superseded
Original release
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Related content

National identity, England and Wales: Census 2021
The national identity of usual residents in England and Wales, Census 2021 data.

Census 2021 dictionary
Detailed information about variables, definitions and classifications to help when using Census 2021 data.

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Dataset link

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ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS028/editions/2021/versions/4

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