White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White people population identifying as English people, Scottish people, Welsh people, Cornish people, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49,997,686, 81.5% of Great Britain total population. For the entire United Kingdom, due to different reporting measures within Northern Ireland which includes all those who identified as British with those who identified as Irish, an amalgamated total of 52,320,080 is given. This accounts for 82.8% of the population and includes individuals who identified as White Irish in Great Britain. In the 2021 Census, the White British group numbered 44,355,044 or 74.4% of the population of England and Wales.
The 2011 census for England, Wales and Scotland also included additional White ethnic classifications of White Irish, Romanichal/Irish Travellers and White Other. There were calls for the 2011 national census in England and Wales to include an extra subcategory so people could identify their ethnic group as Cornish people.
For the 2021 census, in England and Wales, the 'Roma' group was added under the 'White' ethnic group.
In Scotland, about per cent of the White British classification are between the ages of 16 and 64 while about per cent are under 16 and per cent are over 64. Of those aged 65 or over, White British are per cent male and per cent female, the same percentages as in England and Wales.
In Northern Ireland, about per cent of the White classification are between the ages of 16 and 24 while about per cent are under 16 and per cent are over 24. Of those aged 25 or over, white people are per cent male and per cent female.
According to the 2011 UK Census results, White British people made up the largest percentage of the population in rural areas, such as Allerdale (99.4%) and Copeland (99.3%) in Cumbria, Ryedale (99.4%) in North Yorkshire, North Norfolk (99.2%) and North Devon (99%). Cities across the UK regions with high White British populations included Swansea (91.5%), Kingston Upon Hull (89.7%), Plymouth (92.2%), Darlington (93.7%), Belfast (96.4% – NI classification "white"), Norwich (84.7%), Liverpool (84.8%) and Chelmsford (90.0%). The highest unitary authority with a White British proportion was Redcar and Cleveland (97.6%) followed by Northumberland (97.2%), Hartlepool and County Durham (both 96.6%), Lincolnshire (93%) followed by Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Worcestershire, all above 92%. Within the London region, Havering had the highest White British percentage with 83.3%, followed by Bromley with 77.4%, Bexley with 77.3% and Richmond upon Thames with 71.4%.
Since the 2011 UK Census was returned, London contained by far the lowest percentage of English and other White British people of all the UK regions, where they made up less than half of the population in 24 of the 32 London Borough, including: Newham (16.7%), Brent (18.0%), Ealing (30.4%), Harrow (30.9%), Hackney (31.2%), Redbridge (35.2%) and Tower Hamlets (36.2%). Despite this, the White British population in London was still higher in numbers than the entirety of Wales or Northern Ireland, owing to London's high overall population. The city with the lowest White British population as a percentage was Leicester (40.9%) – also the only city below 50% – while the lowest for unitary authorities was Slough (34.5%), followed by Luton (44.6%). The local electoral ward with the lowest percentage was Southall Broadway in Ealing (3.5%), followed by Southall Green in Ealing; Green Street East, Green Street West, and East Ham North, all in Newham, which were the only wards below five per cent.
+White British population in regions of the UK ! rowspan="3" | United Kingdom NUTS 1 Regions ! colspan="6" | Year | ||||
North East England | 2,425,592 | 96.4% | 2,431,423 | 93.6% | 2,397,557 | 90.6% |
South West England | 4,701,602 | 95.3% | 4,855,676 | 91.8% | 5,008,149 | 87.8% |
North West England | 6,203,043 | 92.1% | 6,141,069 | 87.1% | 6,019,385 | 81.2% |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 4,551,394 | 91.6% | 4,531,137 | 85.8% | 4,431,265 | 80.9% |
East of England | 4,927,343 | 91.4% | 4,986,170 | 85.3% | 4,972,149 | 78.5% |
East Midlands | 3,807,731 | 91.2% | 3,871,146 | 85.4% | 3,882,390 | 79.6% |
South East England | 7,304,678 | 91.3% | 7,358,998 | 85.2% | 7,315,058 | 78.8% |
West Midlands | 4,537,892 | 86.1% | 4,434,333 | 79.2% | 4,275,557 | 71.8% |
Greater London | 4,287,861 | 59.7% | 3,669,284 | 44.9% | 3,239,281 | 36.8% |
96.7 |
96.7 |
96.6 |
96.5 |
96.3 |
96.2 |
96.1 |
96.1 |
95.7 |
95.7 |
95.7 |
95.6 |
95.6 |
95.6 |
95.6 |
95.5 |
95.2 |
95.1 |
95.0 |
95.0 |
95.0 |
95.0 |
94.9 |
94.9 |
94.9 |
94.8 |
94.8 |
94.7 |
94.7 |
94.7 |
94.7 |
94.6 |
94.5 |
94.5 |
94.4 |
94.3 |
94.3 |
94.3 |
94.2 |
94.2 |
94.2 |
94.1 |
94.1 |
94.0 |
94.0 |
94.0 |
93.9 |
93.9 |
93.8 |
93.8 |
93.8 |
93.8 |
93.7 |
93.7 |
93.6 |
93.6 |
93.6 |
93.6 |
93.6 |
93.5 |
93.3 |
93.3 |
93.3 |
93.3 |
93.3 |
93.2 |
93.2 |
93.2 |
93.2 |
93.1 |
93.1 |
93.1 |
93.0 |
93.0 |
92.9 |
92.9 |
92.8 |
92.8 |
92.8 |
92.7 |
92.6 |
92.6 |
92.6 |
92.5 |
92.5 |
92.5 |
92.5 |
92.5 |
92.4 |
92.4 |
92.4 |
92.2 |
92.1 |
92.1 |
92.0 |
92.0 |
92.0 |
92.0 |
91.9 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
91.8 |
91.7 |
91.7 |
91.2 |
91.2 |
91.1 |
91.0 |
91.0 |
90.9 |
90.8 |
90.7 |
90.7 |
90.6 |
90.5 |
90.5 |
90.5 |
90.4 |
90.4 |
90.4 |
90.4 |
90.4 |
90.3 |
90.3 |
90.3 |
90.3 |
90.3 |
90.1 |
90.1 |
90.1 |
90.1 |
90.0 |
90.0 |
89.6 |
89.5 |
89.0 |
88.9 |
88.9 |
88.9 |
88.9 |
88.8 |
88.7 |
88.7 |
88.7 |
88.6 |
88.3 |
88.3 |
88.2 |
88.1 |
88.1 |
88.1 |
88.1 |
88.0 |
88.0 |
87.8 |
87.6 |
87.5 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
86.9 |
86.8 |
86.6 |
86.5 |
86.1 |
85.9 |
85.8 |
85.8 |
85.8 |
85.8 |
85.6 |
85.6 |
85.6 |
85.6 |
85.2 |
85.1 |
85.0 |
84.7 |
84.5 |
84.4 |
84.2 |
83.9 |
83.5 |
83.5 |
83.4 |
83.3 |
83.2 |
83.1 |
83.0 |
82.7 |
82.7 |
82.7 |
82.7 |
82.7 |
82.6 |
82.5 |
82.4 |
82.4 |
82.4 |
82.4 |
82.3 |
82.2 |
82.1 |
82.1 |
82.0 |
81.9 |
81.8 |
81.6 |
81.3 |
80.7 |
80.5 |
80.4 |
79.6 |
79.6 |
79.5 |
78.7 |
78.5 |
78.3 |
78.2 |
78.2 |
78.0 |
77.9 |
77.9 |
77.9 |
77.9 |
77.9 |
77.8 |
77.7 |
77.6 |
77.3 |
77.3 |
76.9 |
75.9 |
75.6 |
75.3 |
75.1 |
74.9 |
74.6 |
74.5 |
74.5 |
74.5 |
74.2 |
74.1 |
74.0 |
73.9 |
73.6 |
73.5 |
73.4 |
72.9 |
72.7 |
72.6 |
72.6 |
72.1 |
71.6 |
71.1 |
70.5 |
70.0 |
69.4 |
69.2 |
69.1 |
68.8 |
68.6 |
68.3 |
68.1 |
67.9 |
67.4 |
67.3 |
67.3 |
67.2 |
66.5 |
66.5 |
66.2 |
66.2 |
66.1 |
66.1 |
65.2 |
64.4 |
64.1 |
63.1 |
63.0 |
62.2 |
61.8 |
59.8 |
59.5 |
57.3 |
57.2 |
56.9 |
56.7 |
55.3 |
54.7 |
53.7 |
53.5 |
53.5 |
53.0 |
52.1 |
48.7 |
48.0 |
45.8 |
42.9 |
60.5 |
53.4 |
41.2 |
49.7 |
38.3 |
37.6 |
37.4 |
37.2 |
37.1 |
36.2 |
35.5 |
35.4 |
34.0 |
22.9 |
33.2 |
32.7 |
31.9 |
31.8 |
31.3 |
30.9 |
28.4 |
52.0 |
24.3 |
24.0 |
23.2 |
33.9 |
20.5 |
15.2 |
14.8 |
+Proportion of White British school children in England ! rowspan="3" | Ethnic group ! colspan="2" | School year |
White: British | 5,379,748 | 63.9% |
+Proportion of White British births in England and Wales ! rowspan="3" | Ethnic Group ! colspan="8" | Year | ||||||
White: British | 418,052 | 64.4% (75.2%) | 476,328 | 66.19% | 432,114 | 62.05% | 374,056 | 58.45% |
At GCSE level, official UK Government statistics state that 63% of White British pupils attained A* to C grades in English and Mathematics in the 2015–16 academic year, higher than Black Caribbean (51%) and Pakistani (58%) pupils, but lower than Bangladeshi (67%), Indian (77%) and British Chinese (83%) pupils.UK Government, "Ethnicity Facts and Figures: Education, skills and training: A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (Key Stage 4)" , Accessed 17 July 2018. According to a report by the Sutton Trust, "White working class pupils achieve the lowest grades at GCSE of any main ethnic group, with just a quarter of boys and a third of girls achieving 5 good GCSEs."The Sutton Trust, "White working class boys have lowest GCSE Grades as disadvantaged Bangladeshi, African and Chinese pupils show dramatically improved results", 10 November 2016. Accessed 17 July 2018. At A-Level, in the 2015–16 academic year, 11% of White British pupils achieved at least 3 'A' grades at A-Level; the only major ethnic groups to achieve the same benchmark at a higher rate were Indian (14%) and Chinese (24%) pupils.UK Government, "Ethnicity Facts and Figures: Education, skills and training: Students aged 16 to 18 achieving 3 A grades or better at A Level" . Accessed 17 July 2018.
According to Department for Education statistics for the 2020–21 academic year, White British pupils attained slightly below the national average for academic performance at both A-Level and GCSE. 25.9% of White British pupils achieved at least 3 As at A Level and an average score of 50.2 was achieved in Attainment 8 scoring at GCSE level. White British pupils eligible for free school meals, a measurement of socioeconomic status, are found to be the largest disadvantaged group in education across the early years, GCSE performance and access to higher education. Since 2007, out of all ethnicities aged 18 years old who have received a state education, white pupils have had the lowest rate of entry into higher education and have also seen the lowest rate of increase, from 21.8% in 2007 to 33.3% in 2021. For comparison, 72.1% of Chinese pupils and 48.6% of Black pupils gained a higher education place in the same year.
British Chinese | 42.2 |
British Indians | 33.2 |
All ethnic groups (average) | 28.9 |
White (including White British) | 26.0 |
Mixed | 25.8 |
Bangladeshi | 21.4 |
Pakistani | 17.7 |
Black | 16.5 |
Gypsy/Roma | 10.8 |
Chinese | 69.2 |
Indian | 62.0 |
Bangladeshi | 55.6 |
Mixed | 51.3 |
All ethnic groups (average) | 50.9 |
Pakistani | 50.5 |
White (including White British) | 50.2 |
Black | 50.0 |
Gypsy/Roma | 22.7 |
Chinese | 83.8 |
Indian | 72.4 |
Bangladeshi | 60.6 |
All ethnic groups (average) | 51.9 |
Mixed | 51.5 |
White (including White British) | 50.9 |
Pakistani | 50.3 |
Black | 48.9 |
Gypsy/Roma | 9.1 |
Christianity | 34,576,389 | 75.9% | 28,738,688 | 63.7% | 21,747,631 | 49.0% |
Irreligion | 7,033,407 | 15.4% | 12,624,325 | 28.0% | 19,480,022 | 43.9% |
Judaism | 218,324 | 0.5% | 202,600 | 0.4% | 181,738 | 0.4% |
Islam | 63,042 | 0.1% | 77,272 | 0.2% | 90,939 | 0.2% |
Buddhism | 50,408 | 0.1% | 72,423 | 0.2% | 74,908 | 0.2% |
Hinduism | 5,820 | 0.0% | 6,909 | 0.0% | 5,145 | 0.0% |
Sikhism | 6,192 | 0.0% | 5,417 | 0.0% | 2,616 | 0.0% |
Not Stated | 3,471,290 | 7.6% | 3,238,911 | 7.2% | 2,575,113 | 5.8% |
Other religions | 108,869 | 0.2% | 168,141 | 0.4% | 196,926 | 0.4% |
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