Mnemonic: ethnic_group
Applicability: Person
Type: Derived variable
Definition
The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity or physical appearance.
Respondents could choose one out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.
Classification
Total number of categories: 288
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Afghan |
| 2 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: African unspecified |
| 3 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: African Asian |
| 4 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Anglo Indian |
| 5 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Arab |
| 6 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Asian British |
| 7 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Bangladeshi, British Bangladeshi |
| 8 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Black and Asian |
| 9 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Chinese |
| 10 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British |
| 11 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Filipino |
| 12 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Indian or British Indian |
| 13 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Indonesian |
| 14 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Iranian |
| 15 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Japanese |
| 16 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Kashmiri |
| 17 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Korean |
| 18 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Kurdish |
| 19 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Malaysian |
| 20 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian |
| 21 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Mixed South Asian |
| 22 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Myanmar or Burmese |
| 23 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Nepali (includes Gurkha) |
| 24 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other Asian, Asian unspecified |
| 25 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other East Asian/East Asian unspecified |
| 26 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other Middle East |
| 27 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other Mixed |
| 28 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Pakistani or British Pakistani |
| 29 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Punjabi |
| 30 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Sikh |
| 31 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Sinhalese |
| 32 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Sri Lankan |
| 33 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Taiwanese |
| 34 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Tajikistani/Kazakhstani/Kyrgystani/Turkmenistani/Uzbekistani |
| 35 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Tamil |
| 36 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Thai |
| 37 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Turkish |
| 38 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Vietnamese |
| 39 | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Any other ethnic group |
| 40 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: African unspecified |
| 41 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Angolan |
| 42 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Arab |
| 43 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Black British |
| 44 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Cameroonian |
| 45 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Cote D'Ivoire |
| 46 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| 47 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British |
| 48 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Eritrean |
| 49 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Ethiopian |
| 50 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Gambian |
| 51 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Ghanaian |
| 52 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Kenyan |
| 53 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Malawian |
| 54 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian |
| 55 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Mixed Black |
| 56 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Moroccan |
| 57 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Nigerian |
| 58 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Other Black, Black unspecified |
| 59 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Other Mixed |
| 60 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Other North African |
| 61 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Portuguese |
| 62 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Sierra Leone |
| 63 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Somali |
| 64 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Somalilander |
| 65 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: South African |
| 66 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Sudanese |
| 67 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Tanzanian |
| 68 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Ugandan |
| 69 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Zambian |
| 70 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Zimbabwean |
| 71 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background: Any other ethnic group |
| 72 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: African unspecified |
| 73 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Black and European |
| 74 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Black British |
| 75 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Black/African American |
| 76 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Caribbean |
| 77 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British |
| 78 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Ghanaian |
| 79 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian |
| 80 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Mixed Black |
| 81 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Nigerian |
| 82 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Other Black, Black unspecified |
| 83 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Other Mixed |
| 84 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Polynesian/Micronesian/Melanesian |
| 85 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Somali |
| 86 | Black, Black British, Black Welsh or Caribbean background: Any other ethnic group |
| 87 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African unspecified |
| 88 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African Asian |
| 89 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African/Arab |
| 90 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Anglo Indian |
| 91 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Arab |
| 92 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Asian (unspecified) and European |
| 93 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and Asian |
| 94 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and European |
| 95 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and White (unspecified) |
| 96 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black British |
| 97 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Brazilian |
| 98 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Caribbean |
| 99 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Caribbean Asian |
| 100 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese |
| 101 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese and Other Asian |
| 102 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese and White |
| 103 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: English |
| 104 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British |
| 105 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and Black African |
| 106 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and Black Caribbean |
| 107 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and North African or Middle Eastern |
| 108 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European Mixed, European unspecified, Other European |
| 109 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Greek Cypriot |
| 110 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Hispanic or Latin American |
| 111 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Indian or British Indian |
| 112 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Iranian |
| 113 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Italian |
| 114 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Jewish |
| 115 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian |
| 116 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mexican |
| 117 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed Black |
| 118 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed Irish |
| 119 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed South Asian |
| 120 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed White |
| 121 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Moroccan |
| 122 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Asian, Asian unspecified |
| 123 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Middle East |
| 124 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Mixed |
| 125 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other White, White unspecified |
| 126 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Pakistani or British Pakistani |
| 127 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Polynesian/Micronesian/Melanesian |
| 128 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Portuguese |
| 129 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South African |
| 130 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South American |
| 131 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South Asian and European |
| 132 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Spanish |
| 133 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Turkish |
| 134 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Turkish Cypriot |
| 135 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White African |
| 136 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Arab |
| 137 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Asian (unspecified) |
| 138 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black African |
| 139 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean |
| 140 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and East Asian |
| 141 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and North African or Middle Eastern |
| 142 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and South Asian |
| 143 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White Caribbean |
| 144 | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Any other ethnic group |
| 145 | White: African unspecified |
| 146 | White: Albanian |
| 147 | White: Algerian |
| 148 | White: Arab |
| 149 | White: Argentinian |
| 150 | White: Armenian |
| 151 | White: Australian/New Zealander |
| 152 | White: Austrian |
| 153 | White: Belarusian |
| 154 | White: Belgian |
| 155 | White: Bosnian |
| 156 | White: Brazilian |
| 157 | White: Bulgarian |
| 158 | White: Colombian |
| 159 | White: Cornish |
| 160 | White: Croatian |
| 161 | White: Cypriot (part not stated) |
| 162 | White: Czech |
| 163 | White: Danish |
| 164 | White: Dutch |
| 165 | White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British |
| 166 | White: Estonian |
| 167 | White: European Mixed |
| 168 | White: Finnish |
| 169 | White: French |
| 170 | White: Georgian |
| 171 | White: German |
| 172 | White: Greek |
| 173 | White: Greek Cypriot |
| 174 | White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller |
| 175 | White: Hispanic or Latin American |
| 176 | White: Hungarian |
| 177 | White: Iranian |
| 178 | White: Irish |
| 179 | White: Israeli |
| 180 | White: Italian |
| 181 | White: Jewish |
| 182 | White: Kosovan |
| 183 | White: Kurdish |
| 184 | White: Latvian |
| 185 | White: Lithuanian |
| 186 | White: Maltese |
| 187 | White: Mixed Irish |
| 188 | White: Mixed White |
| 189 | White: Moldovan |
| 190 | White: North American |
| 191 | White: North Macedonian |
| 192 | White: Norwegian |
| 193 | White: Other Eastern European |
| 194 | White: Other Middle East |
| 195 | White: Other Mixed |
| 196 | White: Other North African |
| 197 | White: Other Traveller |
| 198 | White: Other White, White unspecified |
| 199 | White: Polish |
| 200 | White: Portuguese |
| 201 | White: Roma |
| 202 | White: Romanian |
| 203 | White: Russian |
| 204 | White: Serbian |
| 205 | White: Slovakian |
| 206 | White: Slovenian |
| 207 | White: South African |
| 208 | White: South American |
| 209 | White: Spanish |
| 210 | White: Swedish |
| 211 | White: Swiss |
| 212 | White: Turkish |
| 213 | White: Turkish Cypriot |
| 214 | White: Ukrainian |
| 215 | White: White African |
| 216 | White: White and North African or Middle Eastern |
| 217 | White: White Caribbean |
| 218 | White: Zimbabwean |
| 219 | White: Any other ethnic group |
| 220 | Other ethnic group: Afghan |
| 221 | Other ethnic group: African unspecified |
| 222 | Other ethnic group: African Asian |
| 223 | Other ethnic group: Albanian |
| 224 | Other ethnic group: Algerian |
| 225 | Other ethnic group: Arab |
| 226 | Other ethnic group: Armenian |
| 227 | Other ethnic group: Asian British |
| 228 | Other ethnic group: Bangladeshi, British Bangladeshi |
| 229 | Other ethnic group: Black and Asian |
| 230 | Other ethnic group: Brazilian |
| 231 | Other ethnic group: Bulgarian |
| 232 | Other ethnic group: Caribbean |
| 233 | Other ethnic group: Caribbean Asian |
| 234 | Other ethnic group: Chinese |
| 235 | Other ethnic group: Colombian |
| 236 | Other ethnic group: Cornish |
| 237 | Other ethnic group: Cypriot (part not stated) |
| 238 | Other ethnic group: Czech |
| 239 | Other ethnic group: East Asian/East Asian unspecified |
| 240 | Other ethnic group: English |
| 241 | Other ethnic group: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British |
| 242 | Other ethnic group: European Mixed, European unspecified, Other European |
| 243 | Other ethnic group: Filipino |
| 244 | Other ethnic group: Greek |
| 245 | Other ethnic group: Greek Cypriot |
| 246 | Other ethnic group: Gypsy/Romany |
| 248 | Other ethnic group: Indian or British Indian |
| 249 | Other ethnic group: Iranian |
| 250 | Other ethnic group: Italian |
| 251 | Other ethnic group: Japanese |
| 252 | Other ethnic group: Jewish |
| 253 | Other ethnic group: Kashmiri |
| 254 | Other ethnic group: Kurdish |
| 247 | Other ethnic group: Hispanic or Latin American |
| 255 | Other ethnic group: Lithuanian |
| 256 | Other ethnic group: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian |
| 257 | Other ethnic group: Mexican |
| 258 | Other ethnic group: Moroccan |
| 259 | Other ethnic group: Muslim |
| 260 | Other ethnic group: Nepali (includes Gurkha) |
| 261 | Other ethnic group: North African |
| 262 | Other ethnic group: Other Asian, Asian unspecified |
| 263 | Other ethnic group: Other Eastern European |
| 264 | Other ethnic group: Other Middle East |
| 265 | Other ethnic group: Other Mixed |
| 266 | Other ethnic group: Other White, White unspecified |
| 267 | Other ethnic group: Pakistani or British Pakistani |
| 268 | Other ethnic group: Polish |
| 269 | Other ethnic group: Polynesia/Micronesia/Melanesia |
| 270 | Other ethnic group: Portuguese |
| 271 | Other ethnic group: Punjabi |
| 272 | Other ethnic group: Roma |
| 273 | Other ethnic group: Romanian |
| 274 | Other ethnic group: Sikh |
| 275 | Other ethnic group: Slovakian |
| 276 | Other ethnic group: Somali |
| 277 | Other ethnic group: Somalilander |
| 278 | Other ethnic group: South American |
| 279 | Other ethnic group: Spanish |
| 280 | Other ethnic group: Sri Lankan |
| 281 | Other ethnic group: Tamil |
| 282 | Other ethnic group: Thai |
| 283 | Other ethnic group: Turkish |
| 284 | Other ethnic group: Turkish Cypriot |
| 285 | Other ethnic group: Vietnamese |
| 286 | Other ethnic group: White African |
| 287 | Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group |
| -8 | Does not apply* |
*Students and schoolchildren living away during term-time.
View all ethnic group (detailed) classifications.
Background
Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.
Comparability with the 2011 Census
Broadly comparable
The question about the ethnic group people feel they belong to is self-identified and is subjectively meaningful to the person answering the question. This means that how a person chooses to identify can change over time.
We have included a new Roma category next to the Gypsy or Irish Traveller tick-box within the White category. We have also added a write-in option for those selecting African within the Black, Caribbean or Black British category. This means that a more specific ethnic background could be recorded.
What does broadly comparable mean?
A variable that is broadly comparable means that it can be generally compared with the same variable used in the 2011 Census. However, changes may have been made to the question or options that people could choose from or how write-in answers are classified.
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons
Not comparable
This variable is not comparable as the data is not available for all countries.
What does not comparable mean?
A variable that is not comparable means that it cannot be compared for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.
Census 2021 data that uses this variable
We use variables from Census 2021 data to show findings in different ways.
You can: