FOI Reference: FOI/2022/4338
You asked
Please provide statistics of the U.K. population and religion.
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request asking for statistics of the UK population and religion.
From our most up to date (mid-2020) Estimates of the population for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we estimate that there are 67,081,234 persons in the UK.
You can find a downloadable file under 'Mid-2020 edition of this dataset'. When you have downloaded it, click on and open the xls file, then click on the tab 'MYE2 -- Persons'. The data for the UK can be found on row 9.
In December 2021, we published Population estimates by ethnic group and religion, England and Wales: 2019. This publication builds on previous research and user feedback and was published in response to the need for more timely population estimates by ethnic group and religion.
These are experimental statistics of population by 18 ethnic groups and 8 religious groups by age and sex at the national and regional level for England and Wales. As such, they are official statistics but will be subject to further testing in terms of quality and ability to meet user needs.
As these estimates are primarily derived from survey data, they are not precise figures, therefore please be aware of the quality information you can find in the accompanying datasets. Further detail of strengths, limitations and quality information is outlined in Section 6 of the article.
Our 'gold standard' source for population estimates by religion remains the 2011 Census. Data derived from the census are particularly useful when considering more detailed population groups than 8 religious' groups by age, sex and region. It is important to note that these estimates will not reflect change since census day in 2011.
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 (not the whole of the UK) as at census day, 27 March 2011, by 59 religious groupings (or classifications).
Finally, you may also be interested in Census 2021 data which will be released later this year. The Census 2021 first results will be released in early summer 2022 with other data and analysis following through the year. More information can be found in our release plans.
When accessing any of our files, please read the 'notes, terms and conditions' contained within them.
Should you require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at pop.info@ons.gov.uk.