Veterans’ Survey 2022, demographic overview and coverage analysis, UK: December 2023

• Our analysis shows the profile of respondents from England and Wales was generally representative of veterans by religion, country of birth, housing situation and sexual orientation; we have assumed this applies to respondents across the UK.

• We weighted the England and Wales survey data to be closer to Census 2021 data by age, because the profile of veteran respondents from England and Wales was not representative of what we know about veterans from Census 2021.

• Comparing England and Wales respondents with veterans in Census 2021 indicated that disabled veterans were more likely to respond to the survey than non-disabled; this bias is important to bear in mind when interpreting findings from the survey (across the UK 48.5 % of respondents, said they were disabled veterans).

• Across the UK, the majority (93.8%) of veterans said they lived in an owner occupied or shared ownership house, privately rented or socially rented house or flat; a small proportion (2.3%) said they lived long-term with family or friends and 1 in 400 veterans said they were homeless, rough sleeping or living in a refuge for domestic abuse.

• Across the UK, just under half (46.8%) of veterans said they were employed or self-employed and 46.1% said they were retired; 1 in 40 veterans (2.5%) said they were not economically active because they were long-term sick or disabled, and 1.4% said they were unemployed and seeking work.

• Across the UK, nearly a third (31.3%) of veterans said they felt lonely always, often, or some of the time, which is higher than general population estimates for Great Britain; this may reflect the older age profile of veterans and could also be linked to an overrepresentation of disabled veterans in the sample.

The Veterans' Survey 2022 was the first survey of its kind in the UK and was a collaboration between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), The Office for Veterans' Affairs (who funded the survey), and the devolved administrations.

The Veterans' Survey 2022 aimed to understand the experiences of veterans and their families ranging from their time in the armed forces, their transition to civilian life, and their access to veterans' services and support. These data could not be obtained from current or future censuses.

The Veterans' Survey 2022 was conducted via a self-select sample, which relied on advertising and promotion. The survey was UK wide, covering UK armed forces veterans aged 18 years and over that lived in the UK. A smaller family survey was incorporated for immediate family members of veterans aged 18 years and over.

For England and Wales survey responses we have linked the survey data to Census 2021 data and have compared survey respondent profiles with veteran profiles from Census 2021. This allows us to understand how representative the survey was of the known veteran population. This aids interpretation of the survey data and has informed weighting decisions where bias in the survey profile was apparent (as outlined in Section 4: Representativeness of the Veterans’ Survey 2022), including the assumptions we have made for the other UK countries based on the findings of how representative the England and Wales responses were.

We have also published our Veterans' Survey 2022 to Census 2021, linkage report, explaining the process behind linking the survey data to Census 2021 data. This also covers the quality of the linkage and any bias discovered in which survey respondents were linked, and in which survey respondents were not linked. This bias was considered in our interpretation of how representative the survey was and should be considered if analysis of the linked data only is conducted.

This article covers the veteran element of the survey only. Those currently serving were not eligible. In total there were 28,957 veteran respondents. Almost 85% of responses were from veterans in England. As expected, based on how the total population are spread across the UK, a little under 10% of responses came from Scotland and fewer responses came from veterans living in Wales. The smallest proportion of responses was from Northern Ireland.

More information on the survey design and sampling approach can be found in our Veterans' Survey methodology.

All data presented in this section are weighted estimates. England and Wales data were weighted by age against Census 2021 veterans, to better represent the known structure of the UK armed forces veteran population in England and Wales. Weights were scaled to sum to the number of respondents from England and Wales, such that the weights had an average of 1. All respondents from Northern Ireland and Scotland have been allocated a weight of 1 for this analysis since baseline data was not available You can read more about our weighting processes in our Veterans’ Survey 2022, methodology.

You can read more about bias identified in the Veterans' Survey 2022 in Section 4: Representativeness of the Veterans’ Survey 2022

Age and sex 

Overall 1 in 10 (9.7%) veterans were female and 9 in 10 were male. This is a smaller proportion of females compared with those identified in other data sources. However, it is in line with previous findings when we consider the balance of those that had served as a regular, reserve, or both (the survey attracted fewer reservists than expected).

We weighted the survey data for England and Wales to better represent what we know about the ages of the veteran population from Census 2021. We did not weight survey data by sex. Following weighting, the distribution across the UK by age for both males and females is broadly comparable with previous findings about veterans from England and Wales as expected. More information about previous findings can be found in our Characteristics of UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: Census 2021 article.

Figure 1: After weighting survey responses to improve age bias in respondent profiles, the largest proportion of veterans were males aged 80 to 84 years

Percentage of male and female veterans by age bands, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes

1. Non-responses to this question were removed from this chart.

Service and rank 

The majority (85.9%) of veterans said they had served as a regular (full-time service personnel), just over 1 in 10 (10.4%) served as both a regular and reserve and 3.8% served as a reserve only. Though only covering England and Wales, Census 2021 data suggests 19.4% of veterans aged 18 years and over, served as part of the reserves only.

Aggregated analysis from the Veterans' Survey 2022 will better represent experiences of those who have served in the regular UK armed forces compared with those who have served as a reserve only. However, in the future we will aim to publish analysis that is specific to those who have served in the reserve forces where numbers allow.

Around 1 in 25 veterans said they had served under National Service (4.1%). Though there was the option to tick multiple answers, respondents may have preferred to identify as either a regular or reserve, which were other response options for this question. A quarter of veterans (24.9%) said they had served at officer rank (which excluded non-commissioned officers where detail was provided) and the remainder at below officer rank. These percentages exclude a small number of respondents whose responses could not be classified into these groups.

The largest proportion said they had served in the British Army (58.3%), followed by the Royal Air Force (20.3%), Royal Navy (17.7%), and Royal Marines (3.7%). This distribution was expected based on historical data available in the UK defence personnel statistics document, which can be accessed via the House of Commons Library.

Figure 2: Veterans were most likely to have served in the British Army and to have served below officer rank

Percentage of veterans by rank and by service, upon leaving the UK armed forces, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes:

1. The rank and service data are derived from separate questions.
2. Non-responses to this question were removed from this chart.

Personal characteristics 

Ethnic group

Across the UK, most veterans (97.9%) said they identified within a "White" high-level ethnic group. This is not dissimilar to findings from data for England and Wales from Census 2021. There were small numbers of veterans in all other ethnic groups, meaning only high-level analysis of these data is likely to be feasible moving forward. Evidence suggested a small underrepresentation of those that identified in all but the high-level "White" ethnic group. These percentages exclude those that did not answer. 

Figure 3: Small proportions of veterans identified within all, apart from the "White", high-level ethnic groups

Percentage of veterans by high-level ethnic groups, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes:

1. Non-responses to this question were removed from this chart.

Religion

Across the UK, most veterans (69.3%) said they identified as Christian and 27.8% said they did not identify with any religion. Small numbers of veterans identified as belonging to all other religions. This is broadly in line with previous findings about veterans in England and Wales from Census 2021. Only high-level analysis of this data is likely to be feasible in future analysis, owing to a small number of respondents identifying as all other religions.

Sexual orientation

The question on sexual orientation was asked only of respondents completing the survey on their own behalf. Across the UK, 2.3% identified as a minority sexual orientation and 96.0% identified as straight or heterosexual. Overall 1.7% said they preferred not to say in response to this question. The findings are broadly comparable with Census 2021 England and Wales data. It should be noted there are small numbers of veterans identifying as a minority sexual orientation.

Economic activity in the last week

Just under half (46.8%) of veterans said they were employed or self-employed and 46.1% said they were retired. Around 1 in 40 veterans (2.5%) said they were not economically active because they were long-term sick or disabled, and 1.4 % said they were unemployed and seeking work. Very small proportions said they were economically inactive because they were students or looking after a family or a home. 

These findings are broadly similar to data for England and Wales from Census 2021, which you can access using our Create a custom dataset builder tool.

UK citizenship 

The Veterans' Survey asked veterans whether they were a UK citizen during their service and if they are a UK citizen now. In total 0.3%, around 1 in 300 veterans, said they were not UK citizens.

Housing situation

The Veterans' Survey 2022 asked veterans to describe where they were living. The majority (78.9%) said they lived in an owner-occupied or shared ownership house or flat. A further 8.9% lived in privately rented accommodation and 6.0% lived in a socially rented house or flat. This is similar to the findings in our Living arrangements of UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: Census 2021 article.

The Veterans' Survey had additional response options to this question compared with the questions that were available for Census 2021. A small proportion (2.3%) of veterans said they lived long-term with family or friends. Around 1 in 400 veterans said they were homeless, rough sleeping or living in a refuge for domestic abuse, and 3.7% said they had another living situation (veterans in a UK prison will make up some of this percentage).

Figure 4: Most veterans said they lived in an owner occupied or shared ownership house or flat

Percentage of veterans by housing situation, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes:

1. Responses for homeless, rough sleeping and living in a refuge for domestic abuse were combined owing to small numbers of respondents.
2. Non-responses to this question were removed from this chart.

Health and well-being

In line with the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010, across the UK, just under half (48.5 %) were disabled veterans. This is higher than the proportion of disabled veterans identified in England and Wales from Census 2021 (32.1%). This may reflect the fact that disabled veterans were more motivated to respond to the survey or engage with organisations that promoted the Veterans' Survey 2022. This overrepresentation will be important context in which to interpret findings from the survey. Future analysis will explore experiences of disabled veterans and non-disabled veterans.

Figure 5: Veterans with a disability were overrepresented in the survey, just under half of veterans were disabled

Percentage of veterans by responses to disability questions, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes:

1. Non-responses including “prefer not to say” and “don’t know” were removed from this chart, so totals will not always sum to 100.

Across the UK, just under half of veterans (47.8%) said they had never, or hardly ever, felt lonely. Around 20.1% said they occasionally felt lonely and just under a third (31.3%) said they felt lonely always, often, or some of the time.

Data for the household population of Great Britain (collected from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey) during a similar time period, estimated a lower proportion (27%) of adults from the general population reported feeling lonely always, often, or some of the time. More information about this can be found in our Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 21 December 2022 to 8 January 2023 bulletin.

Disabled veterans were proportionally more likely to respond to the survey than those who were non-disabled, and weights were applied to reflect the older age profiles of veterans compared with the general population. There are known links between disabled people and loneliness, as reported in our Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2021 article. Age and loneliness can also be related and future analysis will consider this interaction further.

Figure 6: Across the UK, just under a third of veterans said they felt lonely always, often, or some of the time

Percentage of veterans by responses to the loneliness question, Veterans' Survey 2022, UK

Notes:

1. “Prefer not to say” responses to this question were removed from this chart and totals will not sum to 100.

Any sample survey may produce estimates that differ from the figures that would have been obtained if the entire population had been interviewed. The following section outlines sample profile bias found to aid interpretation of the data and explain the decision to weight England and Wales survey data by age.

We were unable to assess bias for Northern Ireland or Scotland, because no base data were available as outlined in our Veterans' Survey 2022 to Census 2021 linkage report. More information about the implications of our findings for the Scotland and Northern Ireland Veterans' Survey 2022 data can be found in Section 8: Data sources and quality.

To assess the representativeness and any resulting bias in the sample profile of the Veterans' Survey 2022 the following steps were taken:

• we linked the Veterans' Survey 2022 data to Census 2021 data (findings are outlined in our Veterans' Survey 2022 and Census 2021 linkage report)

• we compared veterans from Census 2021, aged 18 years and over, that linked (linked population) or did not link (unlinked population) to a response in the Veterans' Survey 2022 by personal characteristics

• we compared the eligible Veterans' Survey 2022 respondents from England and Wales with Census 2021 estimates for veterans aged 18 years and over by personal characteristics

You can read about respondents to the Veterans’ Survey 2022 that did not link to the Census in Veterans’ Survey 2022 to Census 2021 linkage report.

In this section we will present the findings of the comparison of veterans from England and Wales Census 2021, that were linked and unlinked to the Veterans' Survey 2022 by personal characteristics. We will discuss findings which compare Census 2021 veterans with veteran respondents to the Veterans' Survey 2022 from England and Wales. However, we do not present data for the latter, owing to statistical disclosure control processes which you can read more about in Section 8: Data sources and quality.

Age group

The unlinked population was older than the linked population, with high percentages aged 80 years or over. The direct comparison of the Veterans' Survey 2022 respondents with veterans in Census 2021, showed that veterans who responded to the survey were younger than veterans in general, in England and Wales. The Veterans' Survey 2022 was predominantly online which may have made it less accessible for older age groups.

Figure 7: Veterans from Census 2021 that were linked to a Veterans' Survey response were younger than those which were unlinked

UK armed forces veterans aged 18 years and over from Census 2021 by linkage to the Veterans' Survey 2022 and age group, England and Wales

Notes:

1. “Linked population” refers to veterans in Census 2021 that linked to the Veterans' Survey 2022. “Unlinked population” refers to veterans in Census 2021 that were not linked to the Veterans' Survey 2022.
2. “Age” refers to the age on the last birthday, rather than the exact age.

We decided to weight the England and Wales survey data by age, to make it more representative of veterans in England and Wales. This was important because we know age is correlated with outcomes of interest to veterans, such as health and employment. You can find out more about the weighting of England and Wales data, and implications for other countries' data in our accompanying Veterans' Survey methodology.

Sex 

There were more females in the unlinked population (13.6% compared with 10.7% linked). Our analysis of all veterans aged 18 years and over in Census 2021 compared with veterans responding to the Veterans' Survey 2022, showed similar findings. This suggests female veterans were underrepresented in the survey, though this was only by a small amount when considering the ratio of regulars to reserves responding to the survey. Our Veterans' Survey methodology, describes how weighting by sex was not deemed necessary.

Country and region

The proportions in the linked and unlinked populations that were living in England and Wales were similar. In the Veterans' Survey 2022, the proportion of respondents in England as a proportion of veterans in England and Wales is comparable between the two sources.

There were differences between the linked and unlinked population by region of England. The linked population was underrepresented in some regions, for example, the North West. The linked population was overrepresented in three regions, most predominantly in the South West. The proporation of residents in Wales was also similar to Census 2021, with the census estimate within the confidence interval for both countries.

When comparing the Veterans' Survey 2022 results directly with Census 2021, the findings are similar. We can assume bias in the sample profile by region, which is not addressed by weighting owing to missingness in this variable. You can find out more about weighting decisions in our Veterans' Survey methodology. 

Figure 8: Veterans from Census 2021 that were linked to a Veterans’ Survey response were distributed differently by location, compared with veterans that were not linked

UK armed forces veterans aged 18 years and over from Census 2021 by linkage to the Veterans' Survey 2022, Wales and regions of England

Notes:

1. “Linked population” refers to veterans in Census 2021 that linked to the Veterans' Survey 2022. “Unlinked population” refers to veterans in Census 2021 that were not linked to the Veterans' Survey 2022.

Service type

The linked population were underrepresented by previous service in the reserve UK armed forces only, compared with the unlinked population, 3.5% and 19.6%, respectively.

When comparing Census 2021 and the Veterans' Survey 2022 as separate sources, this same trend was established. This meant the Veterans' Survey 2022 did not capture the reserve UK armed forces population representatively.

Disability

The linked population were less likely to be disabled people compared with the unlinked population, with proportions of 26.8% and 32.2%, respectively. However disabled veterans were overrepresented in the survey compared with Census 2021. This suggests that disabled veterans were more likely to respond to the survey than non-disabled veterans; they were also less likely to successfully link to a census record (for other reasons more specific to the linkage variables selected or their completeness).

Economic activity status

The linked and unlinked populations differed by economic activity. The linked population were most likely to be "working" whereas the unlinked population were most likely to be "retired". ​This was also true when comparing the Veterans' Survey 2022 results with Census 2021. We assume the findings are related to age and this bias reduced post weighting.

Religion

The distributions followed the same trend for both linked and unlinked populations with marginal differences. Although the linked population were more likely to answer, "no religion", "Christian", "Buddhist" or "other" than the unlinked population.​ Directly comparing the Veterans' Survey 2022 results with Census 2021 also showed overrepresentation in survey responses in the "Christian" category, but this is not a large overrepresentation.

High-level ethnic group

Those identifying within the "White" high-level ethnic group made up the highest proportions for both the linked and unlinked populations (98.4% and 96.4%, respectively). Individuals in the linked population were less likely to identify within all other high-level ethnic groups than those in unlinked population, notably for the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" category, where numbers of the Veterans' Survey 2022 respondents were very small.

Comparing the Veterans' Survey 2022 results against Census 2021 there was a similar pattern across both datasets for ethnic group. Though absolute numbers were small, there were lower proportions of veterans identifying within all but the "White" ethnic group in the survey in comparison with Census 2021.

Sexual orientation 

Both the linked and unlinked populations followed the same distribution, with the majority identifying as "straight or heterosexual" (94.4% and 91.3%, respectively). The unlinked population had a higher rate of missingness than the linked population. The comparison with Census 2021 also shows there were proportionally fewer non-responses to this question in the Veterans' Survey 2022 compared with Census 2021. Each sexual orientation, apart from "all other sexual orientations" had higher proportions in the survey than in Census 2021.

Country of birth

The census asked people in which country they were born. This is different from nationality. More information on definitions can be found in Section 7: Glossary.

Though numbers were very small, the linked population were overrepresented in "all other countries", "other Commonwealth countries" and "Nepal" when compared with the unlinked population. The distribution of both datasets followed the same trend.

Further findings from the Veterans’ Survey 2022 will be published throughout 2024 and will include themed analysis covering topics such as the use of, and experience of, veteran services, employment, and health and well-being.

Confidence intervals

Veterans' Survey 2022 estimates are presented with 95% confidence intervals. Any sample survey may produce estimates that differ from the figures that would have been obtained if the whole population had been interviewed. It is, however, possible to calculate a range of values around an estimate, known as the confidence interval (also referred to as margin of error) of the estimate. At the 95% confidence level, over many repeats of a survey under the same conditions, one would expect that the confidence interval would contain the true population value 95 times out of 100. 

Confidence intervals presented are based on complex standard errors (CSEs) around estimates, which reflect the design effects calculated for England and Wales Veterans' Survey 2022 data.

Country of birth

The country in which a person was born. For people not born in one of the four parts of the UK, there was an option to select "elsewhere". People who selected "elsewhere" were asked to write in the current name of their country of birth.

For this analysis on veterans, and in relation to entry requirements to the UK armed forces, we have grouped countries into the following categories: "UK countries", "Ireland", "other Commonwealth countries", "Nepal", "British Overseas Territories" and "all other countries".

Disability

People who assessed their day-to-day activities as limited by long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses are considered disabled.

This definition of a disabled person meets the harmonised standard for measuring disability and is in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Economic activity status last week

Veterans aged 18 years and over were classified as "working" if they were economically active and in employment in the previous seven days.

"Unemployed" refers to people who said they were out of work during the same period but were either looking for work, and could start within two weeks, or were waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted.

"Economically inactive" refers to veterans aged 18 years and over who did not have a job in the previous seven days, and who had not looked for work in the previous four weeks, or could not start work within two weeks.

High-level ethnic group

The ethnic group that a person feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity, or physical appearance.

High-level groups refer to initial ethnicity questions asked, where the respondent identifies through one of the following options:

• "Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh"

• "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African"

• "mixed or multiple"

• "White"

• "other ethnic group"

Respondents to the Veteran's Survey in Northern Ireland had differing and more detailed response options:

• "White"

• "Chinese"

• "Irish Traveler"

• "Roma"

• "Indian"

• "Filipino"

• "Black African"

• "Black Other"

• "mixed ethnic group"

• "any other ethnic group"

These were coded for the purposes of UK level analysis to correspond to the corresponding response option for England, Wales and Scotland.

Religion

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether they practice or have belief in it or not. This variable classifies responses into the eight tick-box response options:

• no religion

• Christian

• Buddhist

• Hindu

• Jewish

• Muslim

• Sikh

• other religion

• did not answer

Our accompanying dataset Veterans' Survey 2022: UK armed forces veterans, weighted estimates, UK outlines how the religion variable was derived.

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation is a term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. For example, someone in an opposite-sex relationship may also experience same-sex attraction, and vice versa. This means the statistics should be interpreted purely as showing how people responded to the question, rather than being about whom they are attracted to, or their actual relationships.

In Census 2021, a voluntary question was asked about sexual orientation, which 92.8% of UK armed forces veterans answered. A similar question was asked in the Veterans' Survey 2022.

UK armed forces veteran

This analysis defines veterans as people aged 18 years and over who have previously served in the UK armed forces. This includes those who have served for at least one day in HM's Armed Forces, either regular or reserves, or merchant mariners who have seen duty on legally defined military operations.

It does not include those who have left and since re-entered the regular or reserve UK armed forces, those who have only served in foreign armed forces, or those who have served in the UK armed forces and are currently living outside of the UK.

Data sources

Veterans in this research have been identified using the following data sources: 

• Veterans' Survey 2022 (for more information, see our Veterans' Survey methodology) 

• Census 2021 (for more information about the census, see our UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: Census 2021 bulletin)

Quality

Weighting for England and Wales Veterans' Survey, 2022

The age profile of veterans responding to the survey differed to the age profile of veterans identified in Census 2021, with survey respondents being younger than veterans from Census 2021. This may reflect the fact the survey was predominantly online or that marketing and promotion of the survey was more likely to reach younger veterans.

We used raking techniques to generate weights for England and Wales survey responses. This was based on the proportions of veterans we would expect to be within given age bands when we considered the age range of veterans from Census 2021. You can read more about this in our Veterans' Survey methodology.

Northern Ireland and Scotland, Veterans' Survey 2022

There is currently no veteran data available for Northern Ireland and Scotland, close enough by time lag that can be reliably used to assess the representativeness of responses to the Veterans' Survey from people that lived in these countries.

Responses from Northern Ireland and Scotland remain unweighted. This principle was maintained even when a respondent gave a postcode that suggested they had an alternative address in England or Wales. However, assumptions are made about bias in respondent profiles from Northern Ireland or Scotland, based on biases we identified in the survey respondents' profiles from England and Wales as compared with data from Census 2021. This gives us a strong understanding of the veteran population in England and Wales.

We have also assumed additional uncertainty because of the sample design based on England and Wales data and included a design effect in the origin of complex standard errors for UK level Veterans' Survey, 2022 data. You can read more about this in our Veterans' Survey methodology.

Bias in sample profile, Veterans' Survey 2022

Despite weighting the data to compensate for known biases in the Veterans' Survey 2022, some biases remain. Awareness of these can be used to help interpretation of results and to guide future analysis.

Census 2021

Quality considerations along with the strengths and limitations of Census 2021 are provided in our Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) for Census 2021. You can read more about the specific quality considerations for UK armed forces veterans in our UK armed forces veterans quality information for Census 2021 methodology.

Further information on our quality assurance processes is provided in our Maximising the quality of Census 2021 population estimates methodology.

Statistical disclosure control 

You can read about the statistical disclosure control we used for census analysis in our Characteristics of UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: Census 2021 article.

We have not published our comparisons of Census 2021 and unweighted England and Wales Veterans' Survey 2022 data for veterans and instead described the general patterns found in our analysis. This is to avoid the feasibility of calculating (from overall response figures or from future planned analysis) respective counts of respondents within a given category, that stated they lived in Northern Ireland or Scotland. There are a smaller number of respondents in these countries and specific thresholds for disclosure control purposes are still being agreed.