Who actually lives in Britain.
Who actually lives in Britain, by birthplace, nationality, religion and fertility. The real numbers behind the loudest claims.
22 figures, each with its official source.
'Foreign-born' includes naturalised British citizens and long-settled residents, not a count of 'immigrants' in any legal sense.
About 1 in 6. Census 2021 gave 16.8% for England & Wales.
~11.9%. Lower than foreign-born because many have acquired British citizenship.
India-born ~1.22m (APS 2024). A country-of-birth ranking reflects historical migration and says nothing about individuals.
10.9m residents; White ethnic groups were 81.7%. Self-defined identity; most ethnic-minority residents are UK-born British citizens.
Highest of any region (vs ~6.8% in the North East), reflects jobs, universities and established communities.
A record low for the third year running, and below the 2.08 'replacement' level (as it has been since 1973). Without migration the population would shrink: the opposite of 'out-breeding'.
Higher than UK-born mothers (1.54) but falling, only marginally above replacement, and the gap has narrowed (driven by UK-born fertility rising). 2022–24 not yet published.
The gap to non-UK-born mothers (0.49) narrowed from 0.54 the year before.
Reflects the age structure of recent migrants (clustered in childbearing ages), not runaway fertility, it is rising even as overall fertility falls.
White 86.0→81.7% · Asian 7.5→9.3% · Black 3.3→4.0% · Mixed 2.2→2.9% · Other 1.0→2.1% Driven by ageing, fertility, migration AND changes in how people self-identify. The single biggest rise was within 'White: Other' (European migration).
No, it converges toward the UK average across generations Well established in research: second-generation fertility approaches the national average.
No: ONS does not project population by ethnic group Any long-range 'ethnic future' projection is academic, self-admittedly error-prone (past attempts over-estimated the White share), and dominated by unknowable migration assumptions. Not a forecast.
27.5m people. Down from 59.3% in 2011, first time below 50%. A plurality, not a majority.
22.2m people. Up from 25.2% in 2011, the fastest-growing response.
3.87m people (about 1 in 15). Up from 4.9% in 2011. England & Wales only; concentration is local (e.g. Tower Hamlets 39.9%).
1.03m people.
524,000 people.
271,000 people.
273,000 people.
3.6m did not answer the voluntary question; 94% did.