Demographics of England

• 1. The First Count In 1801

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  In the year 1801, officials in England began a systematic count of every person living within the kingdom. This marked the start of decennial national census records that continue to this day. Before that moment, estimates varied wildly because no authoritative sources existed for earlier dates. The Domesday Survey from 1086 offers one of the few glimpses into medieval population structures. Russell calculated a total English population of roughly 1,105,216 souls in that year. He included landowners, burgesses, and clergy in his tally. Some counties like Cheshire and Lancashire had uncharacteristically low populations due to the Harrying of the North. That violent campaign left many areas depopulated compared to their modern counterparts.

• 2. Births Deaths And Natural Change

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  Live births reached 773,153 in 1946 while deaths stood at 460,543. This created a natural change of 312,610 people added to the population that single year. By 2021, live births dropped to 595,948 and deaths rose to 549,207. The resulting natural change shrank to just 46,741. Crude birth rates fell from 19.2 per thousand in 1946 to 10.5 per thousand by 2021. Fertility rates followed a similar downward trajectory. They peaked around 1.93 in 2011 before declining to 1.56 by 2021. In 2024, only 34.7% of live births were to mothers born outside the UK. For 40.4% of all live births, one or both parents had been born abroad. These figures reflect shifting patterns across decades of recorded data.

• 3. Where People Came From

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  In 1971, 91.3% of England's residents reported being born within the country itself. That number held steady at 93.1% in 1981 before beginning a slow decline. By 2021, only 82.65% of people said they were born in England. Over that same period, foreign-born populations grew significantly. Europe (non-UK) rose from 2.7% in 1971 to 7.16% in 2021. Poland alone accounted for 1.27% of the total population by 2021. Romania contributed 0.94%. India saw its share climb from 0.7% in 1971 to 1.61% in 2021. Pakistan increased from 0.3% to 1.09% over the same timeframe. Bangladesh grew from 0.1% to 0.47%. Africa as a region moved from 0.3% to 2.76%. The Middle East and Asia combined jumped from 1.1% to 5.74%. These shifts show how migration reshaped the demographic landscape.

• 4. The Shape Of Age Groups

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  In 2001, the mean age of England's population stood at 38.60 years old. The median age was slightly lower at 37.00. By 2022, the median age had risen to 40.5. Population pyramids reveal how these numbers distribute across different bands. Children aged 0, 4 made up 6.26% of the total in 2011. Those between 15 and 19 comprised 6.30%. Adults aged 40, 44 represented 7.33%, while those 45, 49 accounted for 7.32%. People aged 65 and older formed just 5.98% of the whole. The oldest group, those 90 and above, numbered only 403,817 individuals. This represents 0.76% of the entire population. The distribution shows a gradual aging trend over time as birth rates decline and life expectancy increases.

• 5. Changing Ethnic Identities

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  White British people made up 87.0% of England's population in 1991. That figure dropped to 79.8% by 2001 and fell further to 73.5% in 2021. Asian or Asian British groups rose from 2.65% in 1991 to 9.7% in 2021. Indian residents increased from 1.32% to 3.3% during that span. Pakistani populations grew from 0.7% to 2.8%. Bangladeshi communities expanded from 0.18% to 1.1%. Black or Black British totals climbed from 1.51% to 4.2%. African-born Black residents jumped from 0.3% to 2.6%. Mixed ethnic groups emerged as a distinct category starting in 1991. They reached 2.9% of the total by 2021. School pupil data mirrors these trends. White British students declined from 80.3% in 2004 to 61.3% in 2023/24. Non-white pupils now constitute nearly 40% of school enrollments.

• 6. Languages Spoken At Home

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  English remained the dominant language with 46,936,780 speakers representing 92.02% of usual residents aged three and older in 2011. Polish followed as the second most common tongue with 529,173 speakers. That accounted for 1.04% of the population. Punjabi speakers numbered 271,580, making up 0.53%. Urdu users totaled 266,330 or 0.52%. Bengali including Sylheti and Chatgaya dialects reached 216,196 people. Gujarati speakers comprised 212,217 individuals. Arabic was spoken by 152,490 residents. French had 145,026 speakers while Portuguese counted 131,002. Spanish rounded out the top ten with 118,554 users. Welsh appeared only 8,248 times and Cornish just 554 times. These figures highlight how migration introduced new linguistic communities into daily life across England.

• 7. Faith And Belief Systems

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  Christianity dominated religious identification in 2001 with 35,251,244 adherents representing 71.74% of the population. By 2021, that number fell to 26,167,899 or 46.3%. Muslim populations grew steadily from 1,524,887 (3.10%) in 2001 to 3,801,186 (6.7%) in 2021. Hindu communities increased from 546,982 (1.11%) to 1,032,533 (1.8%). Sikhs rose from 327,343 (0.67%) to 520,092 (0.9%). Jewish residents remained relatively stable at around 0.5% throughout the period. Buddhists climbed from 139,046 (0.28%) to 262,433 (0.5%). Those reporting no religion surged dramatically from 7,171,332 (14.59%) in 2001 to 20,715,664 (36.7%) in 2021. This shift reflects broader societal changes regarding spiritual affiliation and secularization trends.