You asked
FOI/2021/2512
I would like to know whether I could be provided with the estimates for religion in the UK population. If the estimates are not possible, could you please share the most recent statistics (preferably 2020).
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request asking for recent population estimates by religion for the UK population.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects religion data for England and Wales, not the whole of the UK.
You may wish to contact National Records of Scotland about population estimates by religion for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency about population estimates by religion for Northern Ireland.
Our best and most up-to-date, official estimates of the population of England and Wales by religion remains those derived from the 2011 Census. These data are freely available at national and subnational level on the Nomis website. The Religion (detailed) [QS210EW] table has a detailed breakdown of the population of England and Wales as at census day, 27 March 2011, by 59 religious groupings (or classifications).
You may also be interested our Research report on population estimates by ethnic group and religion and the accompanying Population characteristics research tables provide illustrative population estimates at national, regional and local authority level for England and Wales by ethnic group and religion for 2016. These illustrative estimates represent research into what the religious group population might look like between censuses and were produced in response to the need for more frequent updates into the size and characteristics of the population.
To access these data, click on the above link, scroll down to 'Edition in this dataset' and open the .xls document entitled 'December 2019 edition of this dataset'. For more information about the methodology used to produce these data, please consult the accompanying Research report.
Please note: These datasets are illustrative datasets only, produced as research. They are not National Statistics. The methodology neither fully incorporates nor adjusts for migration in producing its figures. Our best official estimates remain those derived from the 2011 Census.
When accessing any of our files please read the 'notes, terms and conditions' contained within them.
Please do not hesitate to contact us directly on pop.info@ons.gov.uk if you require anything further.