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Where people in England and Wales were born, 1951 to 2021

Read the census counts

The video shows the ten leading birthplaces outside the UK among residents of England and Wales at each census from 1951 to 2021. It records country of birth, not nationality or ethnicity. Between censuses, the bars move from one recorded count to the next. That movement does not show measured counts for the years in between.

Source · ONS census figures, England and Wales · 1951 to 2021. Table links and notes are below.

The census counts

Residents born outside the UK, including the Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Residents of England and Wales born outside the UK
Census yearPeople
19511,876,000
19612,289,000
19713,097,000
19813,247,840
19913,625,809
20014,635,505
20117,505,010
202110,017,971

Earlier totals are rounded. The published 1971 total includes people whose birthplace was not stated.

By birthplace

All 32 birthplaces and groups held in the supplied data, in alphabetical order. Missing figures are not zero. These rows do not add up to the total.

2021 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 2021
BirthplacePeople
Australia112,971exact (as published)
Austria16,856exact (as published)
Bangladesh273,042exact (as published)
Belgium31,269exact (as published)
Canada69,096exact (as published)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man26,412exact (as published)
China182,376exact (as published)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus72,560exact (as published)
France155,322exact (as published)
Germany263,368exact (as published)
Hong Kong121,429exact (as published)
India920,361exact (as published)
Ireland324,670exact (as published)
Italy276,669exact (as published)
Jamaica142,154exact (as published)
Kenya134,944exact (as published)
Lithuania164,158exact (as published)
Malta24,474exact (as published)
Netherlands67,377exact (as published)
Nigeria270,768exact (as published)
Pakistan623,557exact (as published)
Philippines155,016exact (as published)
Poland743,083exact (as published)
Portugal156,295exact (as published)
Romania538,840exact (as published)
South Africa217,180exact (as published)
Soviet Union (USSR)Not availableThe USSR ended in December 1991; successor states are separate entities.
Spain166,916exact (as published)
Sri Lanka144,296exact (as published)
United States203,281exact (as published)
Zimbabwe124,146exact (as published)
Notes and sources for 2021
  • Usually resident population
  • No residual group in the table is larger than the 15th country, so no hidden country can be in the top 15.

census2021 cob190 · census2021 ts012

2011 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 2011
BirthplacePeople
Australia116,287exact (as published)
Austria19,087exact (as published)
Bangladesh211,500exact (as published)
Belgium25,472exact (as published)
Canada68,631exact (as published)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man26,051exact (as published)
China152,498exact (as published)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus80,010exact (as published)
France129,804exact (as published)
Germany273,564exact (as published)
Hong Kong102,241exact (as published)
India694,148exact (as published)
Ireland407,357exact (as published)
Italy134,619exact (as published)
Jamaica160,095exact (as published)
Kenya137,492exact (as published)
Lithuania97,083exact (as published)
Malta27,788exact (as published)
Netherlands59,081exact (as published)
Nigeria191,183exact (as published)
Pakistan482,137exact (as published)
Philippines122,625exact (as published)
Poland579,121exact (as published)
Portugal88,161exact (as published)
Romania79,687exact (as published)
South Africa191,023exact (as published)
Soviet Union (USSR)Not availableThe USSR ended in December 1991; successor states are separate entities.
Spain79,184exact (as published)
Sri Lanka127,242exact (as published)
United States177,185exact (as published)
Zimbabwe118,348exact (as published)
Notes and sources for 2011
  • Usually resident population
  • No residual group in the table is larger than the 15th country, so no hidden country can be in the top 15.

census2011 qs213ew

2001 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 2001
BirthplacePeople
Australia98,772exact (as published)
Austria18,572exact (as published)
Bangladesh153,040exact (as published)
Belgium20,418exact (as published)
Canada61,500exact (as published)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man28,835exact (as published)
China48,459exact (as published)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus75,763exact (as published)
France89,459exact (as published)
Germany243,554exact (as published)
Hong Kong87,631exact (as published)
India455,941exact (as published)
Ireland473,027exact (as published)
Italy102,020exact (as published)
Jamaica145,934exact (as published)
Kenya127,322exact (as published)
LithuaniaNot availableInside "Baltic States" (10,313) in UV008.
MaltaNot availableInside "Non EU countries in Western Europe" (68,467) in UV008.
Netherlands36,785exact (as published)
Nigeria86,958exact (as published)
Pakistan308,198exact (as published)
PhilippinesNot availableInside "Other Far East" (114,474) in UV008.
Poland58,107exact (as published)
Portugal35,867exact (as published)
Romania7,203exact (as published)
South Africa132,301exact (as published)
Soviet Union (USSR)Not availableThe USSR ended in December 1991; successor states are separate entities.
Spain51,563exact (as published)
Sri Lanka66,928exact (as published)
United States143,916exact (as published)
Zimbabwe47,157exact (as published)
Notes and sources for 2001
  • Usually resident population
  • Top 15 as printed. These residual groups are larger than the 15th country (75,763), so a single country inside one of them could in principle rank higher, though nothing in later tables suggests it. The groups are Other Central and Western Africa (85,240); Other South and Eastern Africa (192,511); Other Far East (114,474); Other Caribbean and West Indies (107,242).

census2001 uv008

1991 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 1991
BirthplacePeople
Australia68,170exact (as published)
Austria19,987exact (as published)
Bangladesh104,208exact (as published)
Belgium15,705exact (as published)
Canada55,197exact (as published)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man27,381exact (as published)
China22,058exact (as published)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus76,699exact (as published)
France51,077exact (as published)
Germany201,636exact (as published)
Hong Kong67,027exact (as published)
India400,016exact (as published)
Ireland569,759exact (as published)
Italy87,063exact (as published)
Jamaica142,115exact (as published)
Kenya110,647exact (as published)
LithuaniaNot availablePart of the USSR at the 1991 Census (21 April 1991); counted in "U.S.S.R.".
Malta29,967exact (as published)
Netherlands27,285exact (as published)
Nigeria46,231exact (as published)
Pakistan224,696exact (as published)
Philippines21,316exact (as published)
Poland70,115exact (as published)
Portugal19,535exact (as published)
Romania3,838exact (as published)
South Africa63,674exact (as published)
Soviet Union (USSR)25,952exact (as published)
Spain37,687exact (as published)
Sri Lanka38,701exact (as published)
United States130,895exact (as published)
Zimbabwe19,986exact (as published)
Notes and sources for 1991
  • Usually resident population (including imputed households)
  • L07 "Outside United Kingdom", which includes the Channel Islands (18,065) and the Isle of Man (9,316).
  • No residual group in the table is larger than the 15th country, so no hidden country can be in the top 15.

census1991 l07

1981 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 1981
BirthplacePeople
Australia57,141exact (as printed)
AustriaNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Bangladesh47,871exact (as printed)
BelgiumNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Canada53,504exact (as printed)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man28,958exact (as printed)
ChinaNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus83,063exact (as printed)
FranceNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Germany170,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
Hong Kong54,010exact (as printed)
India382,777exact (as printed)
Ireland580,384exact (as printed)
Italy93,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
Jamaica163,694exact (as printed)
Kenya100,459exact (as printed)
LithuaniaNot availablePart of the USSR.
Malta32,604exact (as printed)
NetherlandsNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Nigeria30,045exact (as printed)
Pakistan181,728exact (SAS; small-area counts carry small random adjustments)
PhilippinesNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Poland88,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
PortugalNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
RomaniaNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
South Africa50,591exact (ONS printed it in thousands to three decimals)
Soviet Union (USSR)Not availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
SpainNot availableOutside the Commonwealth in 1981, so its row is on a page of the 1981 report that ONS has not released; the 1981 SAS only prints groups ("Other E.C.", "Other Europe", "Rest of World").
Sri Lanka25,392exact (as printed)
United States106,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
Zimbabwe15,155exact (as printed)
Notes and sources for 1981
  • Usually resident population
  • ONS 2013 prints 3,248 thousand, which matches.
  • Ranks 11 to 15 cannot be confirmed. Countries outside the Commonwealth in 1981 other than Germany, the United States, Italy, Poland, Pakistan and South Africa (for example France, Spain, the USSR and Turkey) are on a report page ONS has not released. The 1981 SAS only has groups, "Other E.C." 353,144 (includes Germany, Italy, France), "Other Europe" 241,019 (includes Poland, Spain, the USSR), "Rest of World" 433,044 (includes the United States and South Africa).

census1981 sas · census1981 t1 · ons2013 fig2ab · ons2015 data14

1971 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 1971
BirthplacePeople
Australia53,095as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Austria26,750as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
BangladeshNot availablePart of Pakistan (East Pakistan) until 1971; counted inside Pakistan in this census.
BelgiumNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
Canada56,095as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Channel Islands and Isle of Man30,190as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
China12,635as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus72,270as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
France34,610as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Germany148,250as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Hong Kong27,410as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
India312,840as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Ireland675,870as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Italy103,465as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Jamaica171,315as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Kenya58,035as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
LithuaniaNot availablePart of the USSR; counted inside the USSR row (or not listed separately).
Malta32,495as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Netherlands18,570as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Nigeria27,700as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Pakistan136,150as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
PhilippinesNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
Poland104,450as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
PortugalNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
RomaniaNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
South Africa43,050as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Soviet Union (USSR)45,745as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Spain48,720as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Sri Lanka16,400as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
United States100,460as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Zimbabwe7,260as printed (all 1971 figures are multiples of 5)
Notes and sources for 1971
  • People present on census night; per-country rows are residents only (97,505 visitors are left out)
  • ONS figure 2b total as published. It matches, to the nearest thousand, Table 3's residents born outside the UK (2,854,830) plus Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man (30,190) plus everyone whose birthplace was not stated (212,040). See alternative.
  • Top 15 as printed. These residual groups are larger than the 15th country (43,050), so a single country inside one of them could in principle rank higher, though nothing in later tables suggests it. The groups are Other and unspecified countries in America (66,590); Other countries in Europe (88,070); Elsewhere (72,000).

census1971 t3 · ons2013 fig2ab

1961 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 1961
BirthplacePeople
Australia36,730exact (as printed)
Austria30,414exact (as printed)
BangladeshNot availablePart of Pakistan (East Pakistan) until 1971; counted inside Pakistan in this census.
Belgium14,930exact (as printed)
Canada49,053exact (as printed)
Channel Islands and Isle of ManNot availableNot in the released table (the table excludes the Islands of the British Seas).
China9,192exact (as printed)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus41,898exact (as printed)
France30,392exact (as printed)
Germany120,951exact (as printed)
Hong Kong10,222exact (as printed)
India157,435exact (as printed)
Ireland683,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
Italy81,327exact (as printed)
Jamaica100,051exact (as printed)
Kenya6,299exact (as printed)
LithuaniaNot availablePart of the USSR; counted inside the USSR row (or not listed separately).
Malta24,679exact (as printed)
Netherlands15,694exact (as printed)
Nigeria13,053exact (as printed)
Pakistan30,737exact (as printed)
PhilippinesNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
Poland119,503exact (as printed)
Portugal2,918exact (as printed)
Romania4,499exact (as printed)
South Africa37,564exact (as printed)
Soviet Union (USSR)53,432exact (as printed)
Spain20,829exact (as printed)
Sri Lanka9,071exact (as printed)
United States94,194exact (as printed)
ZimbabweNot availableInside "Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Federation of)" (5,985) with today's Zambia and Malawi.
Notes and sources for 1961
  • Residents of England and Wales on census night
  • ONS figure 2b "Total non-UK born" as printed (its ten countries plus "all other" add to 2,288 thousand because of rounding).
  • Top 15 as printed. These residual groups are larger than the 15th country (30,392), so a single country inside one of them could in principle rank higher, though nothing in later tables suggests it. The groups are Other territories in the Caribbean (52,056); Birthplace not stated (born outside the British Isles) (153,821).

census1961 t2 · ons2013 fig2ab

1951 census counts
Residents of England and Wales by birthplace, 1951
BirthplacePeople
Australia30,718exact (as printed)
Austria30,445exact (as printed)
BangladeshNot availablePart of Pakistan (East Pakistan) until 1971; counted inside Pakistan in this census.
Belgium15,394exact (as printed)
Canada45,833exact (as printed)
Channel Islands and Isle of ManNot availableNot in the released table (the table excludes the Islands of the British Seas).
China8,636exact (as printed)
China, Hong Kong and Macao (survey group)Not availableSurvey group; only exists in estimate years.
Cyprus10,208exact (as printed)
France30,368exact (as printed)
Germany96,379exact (as printed)
Hong Kong3,459exact (as printed)
India110,767exact (as printed)
Ireland492,000nearest thousand (ONS rounded figure)
Italy33,159exact (as printed)
Jamaica6,447exact (as printed)
Kenya2,187exact (as printed)
LithuaniaNot availablePart of the USSR; counted inside the USSR row (or not listed separately).
Malta14,503exact (as printed)
Netherlands13,041exact (as printed)
Nigeria2,922exact (as printed)
Pakistan11,117exact (as printed)
PhilippinesNot availableNot listed separately in this table; inside a residual group such as "Other countries in ...".
Poland151,736exact (as printed)
Portugal1,361exact (as printed)
Romania5,697exact (as printed)
South Africa27,437exact (as printed)
Soviet Union (USSR)76,254exact (as printed)
Spain6,558exact (as printed)
Sri Lanka5,816exact (as printed)
United States59,157exact (as printed)
Zimbabwe1,690exact (as printed)
Notes and sources for 1951
  • Residents of England and Wales on census night
  • ONS figure 2b "Total non-UK born". See the 1951 reconciliation note.
  • Top 15 as printed. These residual groups are larger than the 15th country (13,041), so a single country inside one of them could in principle rank higher, though nothing in later tables suggests it. The groups are Other Countries in Asia (13,206).

census1951 t33 · ons2013 fig2ab

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