Census 2021 in numbers: Key changes in England and Wales population data explained

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Key findings from 2021 Census The number of people identifying as White decreased by 500,000 People identifying as Asian showed the greatest increase - 1.3 million since 2011 Almost 100,000 people identify as Cornish Most common main languages in 2021 other than English were Polish and Romanian Some 14 local authorities recorded more than half of their usual residents as identifying with an ethnic group other than white The rise of ‘Other White’ The ONS said large ethnicity changes were seen in people identifying as “White: Other White”, which stood at 3.7 million in 2021, up from 2.5 million in 2011. The largest ethnic groups specified within “White: Other White” included “White: Polish”, with 614,000 of the overall population identifying this way, and “White: Romanian”, with 343,000 people identifying this way. open image in gallery The proportion of people identifying as Christian has decreased to below half for the first time Meanwhile, the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London has the largest proportion of Muslim people at 39.9 per cent, up from 38.0 per cent in 2011, while Harrow has the highest proportion of Hindus, at 25.8 per cent, up from 25.3 per cent in 2011. “It’s not a great surprise that the Census shows fewer people in this country identifying as Christian than in the past, but it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known.” Asian Britons see largest increase as Cornish also rise open image in gallery People identifying as Asian British saw the largest increase in the 2021 census The largest increases were seen in the number of people who identified their ethnic group within the “Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh” category rising from a proportion of 7.5 per cent in 2011 to 9.3 per cent in 2021 – an increase of 1.3 million.