Ethnic groups by religion for persons 16 years and over for 2001 and 2011 Census

FOI Reference: FOI/2022/4001

You asked

Can I request ethnic group by religion for persons 16 and over for both 2001 and 2011?

We said

​Thank you for your request.

Please see the attached 2011 Census commissioned table named 'FOI 4001 Census 2011 Religious groups broken down by age' which provides Ethnic Group by Religion by 5-year age bands for all standard Regions and England and Wales. This table does not include any write-in responses.

The voluntary question on religion in the 2011 Census was intended to capture people's religious affiliation and identification at the time of the Census irrespective of whether they practised or believed in that religion or how important it was in their lives. If a person had no religion, then the first of a series of tick boxes could be selected. Care should be taken when using these data not to infer, or allow the inference by others, that the practice of a religion or specific religious activities that are expected of believers has been measured. Unlike other census questions where missing answers are imputed, this question was voluntary, and where no answer was provided the response is categorised as 'not stated'.

We do not however hold an equivalent table (Ethnic Group by Religion by Age) from the 2001 Census unfortunately.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Census Customer Service team directly on Census.Customer.Services@ons.gov.uk if you require any further assistance.