Constituency data: Ethnic groups (Census 2021, 2022)

The most recent census asked people about their ethnic group. The census was carried out in March 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and in March 2022 in Scotland. This dashboard shows the results for constituencies across the UK.

How are ethnic groups defined in the census?

The census questionnaires included tick-boxes for specific ethnic groups, such as ‘Indian’ or ‘Pakistani’. These were grouped under broad headings (eg ‘Asian or Asian British’). Respondents could also write in a different ethnic group under any of the broad headings, if theirs wasn’t included in the tick-boxes.

The Northern Ireland census did not use broad headings, but provided tick-boxes and a write-in option.

The response options were different in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To make it easier to make comparisons, we have aggregated detailed ethnic groups together into broad categories – see the ‘definitions’ section below for more detail. The dashboard also has figures for detailed ethnic groups at constituency level.

We have also created UK averages for the broader groups using 2021 data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 data for Scotland. These figures are for comparative purposes, and don’t tell us about the population on a particular date.

Explore constituency data

• Find which constituency you live in

Use the dropdown menu below to select the constituency you’re interested in and view statistics on the population by ethnic group.

Open a printable version

If you would like to access this information in an alternative format please email papers@parliament.uk and we will review your request.

Definitions

We have aggregated the detailed ethnic groups used in the census data into broader groups that allow for consistent comparisons across the UK, as follows.

White

• England, Wales and Scotland: all ethnic groups under the ‘White’ heading on the census form.
• Northern Ireland: respondents ticking ‘White’, ‘Irish Traveller’ or ‘Roma’ on the census form.

Asian

• England: all ethnic groups under the ‘Asian or Asian British’ heading on the form.
• Wales: all ethnic groups under the ‘Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British’ heading on the form.
• Scotland: all ethnic groups under the ‘Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian’ heading on the form.
• Northern Ireland: respondents reported as recording ‘Indian’, ‘Pakistani’, ‘Chinese’, ‘Filipino’ or ‘Other Asian’ ethnicity.

Black, African or Caribbean

• England: all ethnic groups under the ‘Black, Black British, Caribbean or African’ heading on the form.
• Wales: all ethnic groups under the ‘Black, Black Welsh, Black British, Caribbean or African’ heading on the form.
• Scotland: all ethnic groups under the headings ‘African, Scottish African or British African’ and ‘Caribbean or Black’ on the form.
• Northern Ireland: respondents reported as recording ‘Black African’ or ‘Black Other’ ethnicity.

Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups

• England, Wales and Scotland: all ethnic groups under the ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups’ heading on the form.
• Northern Ireland: respondents reporting ‘Mixed ethnic group’ on the form.

Other ethnic groups

• In all cases, respondents identifying with groups under the ‘Any other ethnic group’ heading on the form.

Sources

England and Wales: Office for National Statistics, 2021 census table TS021

Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2021 census table MS-B01

Scotland: Scotland’s census, Search census data, Table UV201

Data updates

This dashboard uses census data. The 2021 and 2022 censuses are currently the only source of constituency-level data on this topic, which means that there aren’t any updates planned for the near future.